title: Spotted fever group rickettsiae from ticks captured in Sudan.
abstract: Ticks were collected from ruminants in various areas of Sudan in 1998 and 2000. Primer pairs of rickettsial citrate synthase gene (gltA) and a spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial 190-kDa surface antigen gene (rompA), respectively, were used for identification. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive products were used for DNA sequencing. The gltA gene was detected in 55% of the ticks examined (57/104). Among the 57 ticks studied, 19 were positive for the rompA gene. Thus, 18% of the ticks examined were found to be infected with SFG rickettsiae. The nucleotide sequences of the amplified rompA gene fragment of Hyalomma spp. and Amblyomma spp. were similar to those of Rickettsia aeschlimannii and Rickettsia africae, respectively. In this study, we succeeded in detecting the SFG rickettsiae gene in ticks, and established that there were at least two species of SFG rickettsiae in field ticks in Sudan.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu 069-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Chiharu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Abdel Rahim Mohamed
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: El Hussein
authors.forename: Etsurou
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Khalil Mohamed Ali
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Abdel Gabbar
authors.forename: Yasukazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Muramatsu
authors.forename: Magdi Badawi
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Abdel Rahman
authors.forename: Ali Mohamed Hassan
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Eleragi
authors.forename: Shawgi Mohamed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Agnes Mumbi
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chitambo
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ueno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001907:Boutonneuse Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D005784:Gene Amplification; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020114:Rickettsia conorii / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012418:Ruminants / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013397:Sudan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C080205:rOmpA, Rickettsia