title: Molecular Evidence of Different Rickettsia Species in Villeta, Colombia.
abstract: The aim of this work was to detect and identify Rickettsia species in ticks collected in rural areas of Villeta, Colombia. Tick specimens were collected from domestic animals and walls of houses in five rural villages of Villeta town and from humans in Naranjal village (same town). Moreover, a flea collected from the same area was also processed. DNA was extracted and tested by conventional, semi-nested, and nested PCR reactions targeting rickettsial genes. In the ticks collected from humans from Naranjal village, a nymph of Amblyomma cajennense sensu lato was amplified using primers for ompA and sequenced (100% identity with "Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii"). Last, three amplicons from the Ctenocephalides felis flea, corresponding to gltA, ompB, and 16S rRNA genes, showed high identity with R. felis (98.5%, 97.3%, and 99.2%, respectively) and "Candidatus Rickettsia asemboensis" (99.7% and 100%, respectively). To our knowledge, these results correspond to the first molecular detection in Colombia of "Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii" and "Ca. Rickettsia asemboensis" in fleas.
authors.affiliation: 1 Microbiology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana , Bogotá, Colombia .
authors.forename: Álvaro A
authors.initials: ÁA
authors.lastname: Faccini-Martínez
authors.affiliation: 2 Veterinary Parasitology Research Group, Universidad Nacional de Colombia , Bogotá, Colombia .
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Hernández
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal de Viçosa , Brazil .
authors.forename: Elkin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Forero-Becerra
authors.affiliation: 2 Veterinary Parasitology Research Group, Universidad Nacional de Colombia , Bogotá, Colombia .
authors.forename: Jesús A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cortés-Vecino
authors.affiliation: 4 Microbiology Group, Instituto Nacional de Salud , Bogotá, Colombia .
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Escandón
authors.affiliation: 5 CENTAURO Research Group, Universidad de Antioquia , Medellin, Colombia .
authors.forename: Juan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Rodas
authors.affiliation: 6 Infectious Diseases Department, Center of Rickettsioses and Arthropod-borne Diseases , Hospital San Pedro-CIBIR, Logroño, Spain .
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Palomar
authors.affiliation: 6 Infectious Diseases Department, Center of Rickettsioses and Arthropod-borne Diseases , Hospital San Pedro-CIBIR, Logroño, Spain .
authors.forename: Aránzazu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Portillo
authors.affiliation: 6 Infectious Diseases Department, Center of Rickettsioses and Arthropod-borne Diseases , Hospital San Pedro-CIBIR, Logroño, Spain .
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Oteo
authors.affiliation: 1 Microbiology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana , Bogotá, Colombia .
authors.forename: Marylin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D058251:Ctenocephalides / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D058267:Flea Infestations / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary; D006801:Humans; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Colombia; Fleas; PCR; Rickettsia; Ticks