Spotted fever group rickettsiae from ticks captured in Sudan.
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.
Morita
Chiharu
C
School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu 069-8501, Japan.
El Hussein
Abdel Rahim Mohamed
AR
Matsuda
Etsurou
E
Abdel Gabbar
Khalil Mohamed Ali
KM
Muramatsu
Yasukazu
Y
Abdel Rahman
Magdi Badawi
MB
Eleragi
Ali Mohamed Hassan
AM
Hassan
Shawgi Mohamed
SM
Chitambo
Agnes Mumbi
AM
Ueno
Hiroshi
H
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*
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C080205:rOmpA, Rickettsia