title: [Tick-borne rickettsioses in the Americas: clinical and epidemiological advances, and diagnostic challenges].
abstract: Rickettsioses are a group of zoonotic diseases caused by strict intracellular bacteria of the genus Rickettsia and Orientia which belong to the Rickettsiaceae family. Their ecology is influenced by environmental factors and the presence of specific vectors that determine the establishment and epidemiology in different world regions. In America, during the 20 th century, only three of these diseases were recognized: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, epidemic typhus and endemic typhus. However, since 2000, more than 10 different species that had previously been unknown in this continent have been described, both in arthropods and in clinical cases, fact that classifies them as emerging and re-emerging diseases. Given the clinical manifestations of the diseases caused by rickettsias, being the majority unspecific and, therefore, shared with other infectious diseases, especially viral and bacterial, they have been framed within the differential diagnoses of acute febrile syndrome in urban and tropical areas. Nowadays, there are direct and indirect diagnostic methods, which are useful in the definition of the infectious agent, in this case, the cause of rickettsioses.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
authors.forename: Marylin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
authors.forename: Álvaro A
authors.initials: ÁA
authors.lastname: Faccini-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, University of Texas Medical Branch, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valbuena
mesh_terms: D000569:Americas / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D013045:Species Specificity; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D064927:Tick Bites / Q000382:microbiology; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology