title: Spotted fever group rickettsiae in Amblyomma ticks likely to infest humans in rural areas from northwestern Argentina.
abstract: This work was performed to detect Rickettsia species of the spotted fever group in Amblyomma ticks likely to infest humans in rural areas from northwestern Argentina. Free-living ticks were collected and determined as Amblyomma tigrinum, Amblyomma neumanni and Amblyomma tonelliae. Rickettsia infection was determined by polymerase chain reactions which amplify fragments of the rickettsial genes gltA and ompA. A high frequency (35/44, 79.5%) of Candidatus "Rickettsia andeanae" was observed in A. tigrinum ticks, and Candidatus "Rickettsia amblyommii" was found in three out of 14 nymphs of A. neumanni. All 14 Amblyomma tonelliae ticks were negative for rikettsiae. The infection with spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks aggressive for humans reveals the potential risk of exposure to tick-borne pathogens of people inhabiting rural areas of northwestern Argentina.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Santa Fe, Argentina.
authors.forename: María N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Saracho Bottero
authors.forename: Evelina L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Tarragona
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nava
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D001179:Arthropod Vectors / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D062486:Public Health Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000517:prevention & control; D013987:Ticks / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Amblyomma; Argentina; spotted fever rickettsiae; ticks