title: Prevalence of rickettsia-like organisms and spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from Zimbabwe.
abstract: The prevalence of rickettsia-like organisms in ticks from Zimbabwe was determined using the hemolymph test. Amblyomma hebraeum had the highest prevalence of rickettsia-like organisms. Other species with rickettsia-like organisms included Amblyomma sparsum, Amblyomma variegatum, Hyalomma marginatum rufipes, Ripicephalus simus, Haemaphysalis leachi, Amblyomma rhinocerotis, and Hyalomma truncatum. Ticks with no demonstrable rickettsia-like organisms infection were Boophilus decoloratus, Haemaphysalis spinulosa, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis on samples of hemolymph-positive ticks showed the agent of African tick-bite fever to be present in A. hebraeum, Rickettsia conorii to be present in Rhipicephalus simus and Haemaphysalis leachi, and a spotted fever group rickettsia similar to that in Hyalomma marginatum marginatum ticks from Morocco and Portugal to be present in Hyalomma marginatum rufipes.
authors.affiliation: Unité des Rickettsies, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beati
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Matthewman
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012287:Rickettsiaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000382:microbiology; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*; D015030:Zimbabwe