title: Spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks from the Masai Mara region of Kenya.
abstract: We have identified for the first time Rickettsia africae, and the ticks that harbored them, in Kenya. A total of 5,325 ticks were collected from vegetation, livestock, and wild animals during two field trips to southwestern Kenya. Most were immature forms (85.2%) belonging to the genera Amblyomma or Rhipicephalus. The adults also included representatives from the genus Boophilus. Ticks were assessed for rickettsial DNA by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers for the spotted fever group (SFG)-specific rickettsial outer membrane protein A (rompA) gene, and positive amplicons were sequenced. While none of the immature ticks tested positive by PCR, 15.8% of the adult Amblyomma variegatum and less than 1% of the Rhipicephalus spp. were SFG positive. Sequences of amplified products were identified as R. africae. These findings extend the known range of R. africae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. kmaca001@umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Kevin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Macaluso
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Uzma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Korman
authors.forename: Jeremiah S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Rutherford
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: Abdu F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Azad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002417:Cattle; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005260:Female; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C080205:rOmpA, Rickettsia