title: The Detection of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia DNA in Tick Samples From Pastoral Communities in Kenya.
abstract: In this study, ticks from pastoral communities in Kenya were tested for Rickettsia spp. infections in geographical regions where the presence of tick-borne arboviruses had previously been reported. Rickettsial and arbovirus infections have similar clinical features which makes differential diagnosis challenging when both diseases occur. The tick samples were tested for Rickettsia spp. by conventional PCR using three primer sets targeting the gltA, ompA, and ompB genes followed by amplicon sequencing. Of the tick pools screened, 25% (95/380) were positive for Rickettsia spp. DNA using the gltA primer set. Of the tick-positive pools, 60% were ticks collected from camels. Rickettsia aeschlimannii and R. africae were the main Rickettsia spp. detected in the tick pools sequenced. The findings of this study indicate that multiple Rickettsia species are circulating in ticks from pastoral communities in Kenya and could contribute to the etiology of febrile illness in these areas. Diagnosis and treatment of rickettsial infections should be a public health priority in these regions.
authors.affiliation: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P. O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya ( hellen.koka@usamru-k.org; hkutima@gmail.com ).|US Army Medical Research Directorate - Kenya, P. O. Box 606-00621, Nairobi, Kenya ( lillian.musila@usamru-k.org ).
authors.forename: Hellen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koka
authors.affiliation: Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Virus Research, P. O. Box 54628-00200, Nairobi, Kenya ( Rsang@kemri.org ).|International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, P. O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.affiliation: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P. O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya (hellen.koka@usamru-k.org; hkutima@gmail.com).
authors.forename: Helen Lydia
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kutima
authors.affiliation: US Army Medical Research Directorate - Kenya, P. O. Box 606-00621, Nairobi, Kenya (lillian.musila@usamru-k.org).
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Musila
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002162:Camelus; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D058751:Livestock; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D014171:Transients and Migrants
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Rickettsia; diagnosis; gltA; pastoral; tick