Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii in Dermacentor marginatus ticks collected on wild boars in Tuscany, Italy.
During the hunting season 2007-2008, 494 Dermacentor marginatus (Sulzer) ticks were collected from 109 hunter-killed wild boars, Sus scrofa, in Lucca's province, Tuscany, Italy. Rickettsia slovaca, the causative agent of tick-borne lymphadenopathy (TIBOLA), was detected in 32.1% of ticks tested (n=112) by using polymerase chain reaction primers targeting gltA, ompA, and ompB rickettsial genes. Moreover, Rickettsia raoultii was found for the first time in Italy, with 1.8% infection prevalence. This study confirms the risk posed to humans by ticks and tick-borne pathogens in the study area, where cases of spotted fever rickettsiosis (TIBOLA) are reported.
Selmi
Marco
M
Osservatorio Permanente per Patologie a trasmissione Vettoriale-ASL 2 Lucca, Italy.
Martello
Elisa
E
Bertolotti
Luigi
L
Bisanzio
Donal
D
Tomassone
Laura
L
D000818:Animals; D003870:Dermacentor / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000469:parasitology*; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*