title: Rickettsia africae sp. nov., the etiological agent of African tick bite fever.
abstract: We propose the name Rickettsia africae sp. nov. (with type strain Z9-Hu) for a distinct species of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae that is the etiological agent of African tick bite fever in humans. This rickettsia has a distinct natural cycle and can be phenotypically distinguished from the other SFG rickettsiae by microimmunofluorescence serotyping, by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and by Western blotting (immunoblotting). Genotypic differences between R. africae and the other SFG rickettsiae can be demonstrated by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Studies, University of Zimbabwe, Harare.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beati
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Matthewman
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Roux
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000032:analysis; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D012703:Serotyping; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S