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Infect Dis Clin North Am 2019 Mar;33(1):213-229

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0435, USA. Electronic address:

Rickettsia are small, obligately intracellular, gram-negative bacilli. They are distributed among a variety of hematophagous arthropod vectors and cause illness throughout the world. Rickettsioses present as an acute undifferentiated febrile illness and are often accompanied by headache, myalgias, and malaise. Read More

East Mediterr Health J 2019 Jan 23;24(11):1082-1087. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Background: Ticks are able to transmit important diseases to humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, summer Russian encephalitis, and relapsing fever.

Aims: To determine the repellency effect of 1% flumethrin pour-on formulation against hard ticks.

Methods: The concentration of flumethrin pour-on formulation was 1 mg/10 kg body weight and was administered on the dorsal midline from the head to the base of the tail. Read More

J Dtsch Dermatol Ges 2018 Dec;16(12):1459-1476

While epidemic typhus caused by Rickettsia prowazekii posed a significant threat in Europe before and throughout World War II due to its high mortality, the condition fortunately no longer plays a significant role. Nevertheless, rickettsioses, such as African tick bite fever, have been increasingly diagnosed in travelers returning from sub-Saharan Africa. Caused by Rickettsia africae, African tick bite fever presents with characteristic cutaneous findings such as eschar (tache noir) and a rash. Read More

PLoS One 2018 26;13(11):e0207811. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Huadong Research Institute for Medicine and Biotechniques, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.

Objectives: Rickettsia rickettsii is the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is the most severe spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosis. Developing a simple and reliable detection method is required.

Methods: A detection method for R. Read More

Infect Immun 2019 Feb 24;87(2). Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases, Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University (CVM-KSU), Manhattan, Kansas, USA

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a potentially fatal tick-borne disease in people and dogs. RMSF is reported in the United States and several countries in North, Central, and South America. The causative agent of this disease, , is transmitted by several species of ticks, including , , and RMSF clinical signs generally include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, lack of appetite, and rash. Read More

Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc 2018 Oct 25;56(3):320-322. Epub 2018 Oct 25.

Universidad de Sonora, Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud. Hermosillo, Sonora, México

Background: Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a disease spread by an infected tick and it is lethal if patient is not treated on time. Symptom similarities with other exanthematous diseases may delay the diagnosis, which leads to its mortality.

Clinical Case: We show the lethal case of a patient with medical record of high blood pressure and no history of travel, who lived in Sonora, Mexico. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2018 11;24(11):2041-2048

Amblyomma aureolatum ticks are vectors of Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Brazil. Maintenance of R. rickettsii in nature depends on horizontal transmission along tick generations. Read More

Bol Med Hosp Infant Mex 2018 ;75(5):303-308

Unidad de Investigación Medicina Basada en Evidencias, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Ciudad de México. México.

Introducción: La fiebre manchada de las montañas rocosas (FMMR) es causada por Rickettsia rickettsii. En Coahuila, la región de la Comarca Lagunera se considera una zona endémica. No se han reportado casos en la zona sur del estado, específicamente en la ciudad de Saltillo. Read More

Mo Med 2018 Jul-Aug;115(4):374-379

Deborah A. Hudman, MS, is in the Department of Microbiology/Immunology, A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

While the prevalence of human pathogens has been quantified in ticks in Adair County, Missouri, the prevalence of residents acquiring tick-borne diseases and seeking medical treatment has not. A public survey (n=109) revealed that 96% of respondents reported finding attached ticks on their person; of these, 38% developed symptoms post tick bite; of these, 55% reported consultation with a health care provider. Overall, 89% of practitioners surveyed had treated at least one patient for tick-borne disease. Read More

Zoonoses Public Health 2018 11 27;65(7):897-901. Epub 2018 Aug 27.

Section of Pediatric Tropical Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas.

We identified six paediatric case-patients from southeast Texas diagnosed with confirmed or probable Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis (SFGR) between 2008 and 2016. Only one case had a history of travel to an endemic area. Clinical and laboratory findings strongly suggest locally acquired Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in one Houston patient. Read More

Zoonoses Public Health 2018 12 21;65(8):984-992. Epub 2018 Aug 21.

Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Infectious Disease Services, Phoenix, Arizona.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a severe tick-borne rickettsial illness. In the south-western United States and Mexico, RMSF displays unique epidemiologic and ecologic characteristics, including Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (brown dog tick) as the primary vector. Expansion and spread of the disease from hyperendemic regions of Arizona or Mexico to new areas is a key public health concern. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2018 09;24(9):1723-1725

Since 2008, a large epidemic of Rocky Mountain spotted fever has been emerging among humans and dogs in Mexicali, adjacent to the United States in Baja California, Mexico. We molecularly confirmed the causative agent; this information can be used to study the origin and dynamics of the epidemic. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2018 11 10;18(11):579-587. Epub 2018 Aug 10.

Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia .

Although Dermacentor spp. ticks are considered the primary vectors of Rickettsia rickettsii in the United States, other North American tick species are also capable of transmitting the agent, including the lone star tick-Amblyomma americanum. The lone star tick is an aggressive human-biting tick abundant in the South, Central, and Mid-Atlantic United States, which has been shown to be a competent vector of R. Read More

Am J Case Rep 2018 Aug 4;19:917-919. Epub 2018 Aug 4.

Department of Internal Medicine, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.

BACKGROUND Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is associated with high mortality and requires prompt identification and treatment to ensure better outcomes. CASE REPORT We describe an advanced case of RMSF in a 45-year-old female patient with pet dog exposure who presented with altered mental status, dyspnea, and ataxia progressing to septic shock and acute hypoxic respiratory failure requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSIONS This case illustrates the importance of keeping RMSF in the differential diagnosis in patient populations outside of the usual geographic areas of incidence in the appropriate clinical setting. Read More

PLoS One 2018 31;13(7):e0201665. Epub 2018 Jul 31.

Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.

The distribution, abundance and seasonal activity of vector species, such as ticks and mosquitoes, are key determinants of vector-borne disease risk, and are strongly influenced by abiotic and habitat conditions. Despite the numerous species of tick vectors in the heavily populated North American West Coast, all but Ixodes pacificus, the primary vector of the Lyme disease spirochete, is poorly characterized with regard to seasonal activity patterns and fine scale drivers of distribution and abundance, particularly in heavily populated regions of southern California. This lack of knowledge inhibits both scientific understanding and public health efforts to minimize vector exposure and risk of pathogen transmission to humans. Read More

Res Rep Trop Med 2018 29;9:103-112. Epub 2018 Jun 29.

Vector Research Laboratory, Tropical Diseases Research Center, Faculty of Microbiology, University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica.

In this paper, we present a historical review of rickettsiosis in Central America and also the most recent findings of in ectoparasites. All countries of Central America have records of rickettsiosis. Regarding the typhus group rickettsioses, there is clinical or serological evidence of in Guatemala, in Panama, Guatemala, and Costa Rica and unidentified species of the typhus group in El Salvador. Read More

J Bacteriol 2018 Oct 10;200(19). Epub 2018 Sep 10.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Members of the genus are obligate intracellular, Gram-negative coccobacilli that infect mammalian and arthropod hosts. Several rickettsial species are human pathogens and are transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods. In Gram-negative parasites, the outer membrane (OM) sits at the nexus of the host-pathogen interaction and is rich in lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Read More

J Am Board Fam Med 2018 Jul-Aug;31(4):650-652

From Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, NJ (ACK, MPC).

Galactose-α-1, 3 galactose (α-gal) is a carbohydrate found in mammalian meat. In 2007, it was implicated as a cause of severe hypersensitivity reactions when a study found elevated levels of antibodies directed against this oligosaccharide among patients treated with cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody that contained an α -gal epitope. The majority of these cases were reported in the Southeast United States in a distribution similar to that of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis, and that geographic association led researchers to the conclusion that a bite from the Lone Star tick can induce this antibody. Read More

MBio 2018 06 26;9(3). Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Host-Parasite Interactions Section, Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH, Hamilton, Montana, USA

Strains of , the tick-borne agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, vary considerably in virulence. Genomic comparisons of strains have identified a relatively small number of genes divergent in an avirulent strain. Among these is one annotated as ankyrin repeat protein 2 (RARP-2). Read More

Infect Disord Drug Targets 2018 Jun 26. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas and Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, Las Cruses, New Mexico. United States.

In the United States, tick-borne illnesses account for a significant number of patients that have been seen and treated by health care facilities. This in turn, has resulted in a significant morbidity and mortality and economic costs to the country. The distribution of these illnesses is geographically variable and is related to the climate as well. Read More

J Med Entomol 2018 Aug;55(5):1284-1291

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), is a vector of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae, including Rickettsia rickettsii the causative organism of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). In North Carolina, SFG rickettsioses (including RMSF) are a leading cause of tick-borne illness. Knowledge of the infection rate and geographic distribution of D. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018 May 4;67(17):496-501. Epub 2018 May 4.

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Introduction: Vectorborne diseases are major causes of death and illness worldwide. In the United States, the most common vectorborne pathogens are transmitted by ticks or mosquitoes, including those causing Lyme disease; Rocky Mountain spotted fever; and West Nile, dengue, and Zika virus diseases. This report examines trends in occurrence of nationally reportable vectorborne diseases during 2004-2016. Read More

J Emerg Med 2018 07 22;55(1):42-50. Epub 2018 Apr 22.

Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.

Background: Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is potentially deadly and can present subtly with signs and symptoms overlapping with other clinical conditions. Delayed diagnosis can be fatal.

Objective: This review provides an evidence-based summary of the current data for the evaluation and management of RMSF in the emergency department. Read More

Biomedica 2018 Mar 15;38(1):69-76. Epub 2018 Mar 15.

Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, México.

Introduction: Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a highly lethal infectious disease, particularly if specific treatment with doxycycline is given belatedly.

Objective: To describe the clinical profile of fatal Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases in hospitalized patients in the state of Sonora, México.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on a series of 47 deaths caused by Rickettsia rickettsii from 2013 to 2016. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2018 05 5;146(7):875-878. Epub 2018 Apr 5.

Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud,Ciudad de Panamá,Panama.

The clinical and pathologic characterisation of two fatal cases of tick-borne rickettsiosis in rural (El Valle) and urban (City of Panama) Panama are described. Clinical and autopsy findings were non-specific, but the molecular analysis was used to identify Rickettsia rickettsii in both cases. No ticks were collected in El Valle, while in the urban case, R. Read More

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2018 Mar;112(3):109-114

Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sonora, Mexico; Hermosillo, Sonora, México, C.P. 83000.

Background: Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a tick-borne disease with a high case-fatality rate unless diagnosed promptly and treated timely with doxycycline. Physician knowledge about presentation and treatment can improve outcomes of RMSF in endemic regions, such as Sonora in northern Mexico, where RMSF has caused 1348 non-fatal cases and 247 deaths from 2003 to 2016.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 343 physicians working in medical facilities in Sonora, Mexico. Read More

J Parasitol 2018 Jun 19;104(3):240-245. Epub 2018 Mar 19.

School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California 95616.

Increasing rates of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico underscore the importance of studying the ecology of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the vector in that region. This species is reported to comprise distinct tropical and temperate lineages that may differ in vectorial capacity for RMSF and are hypothesized to be limited in their geographical range by climatic conditions. In this study, lineage was determined for ticks from 9 locations in California, Arizona, and Mexico by DNA sequencing of 12S, 16S, and D-loop ribosomal RNA. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2018 05 9;9(4):819-823. Epub 2018 Mar 9.

Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista, Avenida 24-A, 1515, Bairro Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP, CEP13506-900, Brazil.

Rickettsiosis are emerging or re-emerging diseases, with a worldwide distribution associated to transmission by arthropod vectors. Rickettsia species belong to the spotted fever group (SFG) and are transmitted by hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) that may act as vectors and reservoirs. This study carried out a molecular detection of Rickettsia from 7 species of the family Ixodidae collected from domestic hosts by PCR amplification of fragments of the citrate synthase "gltA" gene and outer membrane protein "ompA" gene. Read More

Dis Mon 2018 May 15;64(5):185-194. Epub 2018 Mar 15.

Department of Emergency/Family Medicine, Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, USA. Electronic address:

Cutis 2018 Jan;101(1):19;20;36

Department of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.

Dermacentor ticks are hard ticks found throughout most of North America and are easily identified by their large size, ornate scutum, and prominent dorsal pits. They are important disease vectors and are implicated in transmission of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), Colorado tick fever, tularemia, and erlichiosis. They also are an important cause of fatal tick paralysis. Read More

Dis Mon 2018 May 7;64(5):163-169. Epub 2018 Mar 7.

Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University. Electronic address:

Braz J Infect Dis 2018 Mar - Apr;22(2):153-154. Epub 2018 Mar 1.

Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Campinas, SP, Brazil.

Rev Chilena Infectol 2017 Oct;34(5):491-493

Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile.

During the historical development of typhoid fever in Chile, its confusion with other infectious diseases is particularly noteworthy, especially with murine typhus, a problem that was mainly resolved during the 1918 epidemic. The importance of chloramphenicol treatment is also highlighted, which meant an enormous improvement in typhoid/paratyphoid fevers, in combination with public health and health education actions that allowed to almost eliminate these infectious diseases in our country. Read More

Acta Trop 2018 Jun 21;182:100-110. Epub 2018 Feb 21.

Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, 211004, India. Electronic address:

Background: Antibiotic resistance is increasing rapidly in pathogenic organisms, creating more complications for treatment of diseases. Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a neglected tropical disease in humans caused by Rickettsia rickettsii for which no effective therapeutic is available. Subtractive genomics methods facilitate the characterization of non-homologous essential proteins that could be targeted for the discovery of potential therapeutic compounds against R. Read More

Case Rep Oncol 2017 Sep-Dec;10(3):945-947. Epub 2017 Oct 23.

Department of Oncology, University of Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) - also called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or immune thrombocytopenic purpura - is an acquired thrombocytopenia caused by autoantibodies against platelet antigens. It is one of the more common causes of thrombocytopenia in otherwise asymptomatic adults. Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a potentially lethal, but curable, tick-borne disease. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017 21;7:476. Epub 2017 Nov 21.

Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Ticks are obligate blood feeding ectoparasites that transmit a wide variety of pathogenic microorganisms to their vertebrate hosts. is vector of , the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), the most lethal rickettsiosis that affects humans. It is known that the transmission of pathogens by ticks is mainly associated with the physiology of the feeding process. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2018 01 16;9(1):67-71. Epub 2017 Oct 16.

Laboratório de Ixodologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Pará, 1720/Campus Umuarama-Bloco 2T, CEP 38400-902 Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address:

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a potentially lethal human disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii transmitted by ticks, including Amblyomma sculptum. However, in Southeast Brazil, where most BSF cases occur, capybaras are key hosts for both A. sculptum and Amblyomma dubitatum. Read More

Vaccine 2017 12 10;35(51):7204-7212. Epub 2017 Oct 10.

State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 20# Dong-Dia-Jie Street, Fengtai, Beijing 100071, China; Army Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Institute for Tuberculosis Research, The 309th Hospital of Chinese PLA, 17# Hei-Shan-Hu Road, Haidian, Beijing 100091, China. Electronic address:

Rickettsia rickettsii is the causative pathogen of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Adr2, YbgF and OmpB are protective antigens of R. rickettsii. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2017 10;23(10):1621-1626

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is an emerging public health concern near the US-Mexico border, where it has resulted in thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths in the past decade. We identified 4 patients who had acquired RMSF in northern Mexico and subsequently died at US healthcare facilities. Two patients sought care in Mexico before being admitted to US-based hospitals. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017 5;7:390. Epub 2017 Sep 5.

Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Louisiana State UniversityBaton Rouge, LA, United States.

Ticks transmit a greater variety of pathogenic agents that cause disease in humans and animals than any other haematophagous arthropod, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis, tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean Congo haemorhagic fever, and many others (Gulia-Nuss et al., 2016). Although diverse explanations have been proposed to explain their remarkable vectorial capacity, among the most important are their blood feeding habit, their long term off-host survival, the diverse array of bioactive molecules that disrupt the host's natural hemostatic mechanisms, facilitate blood flow, pain inhibitors, and minimize inflammation to prevent immune rejection (Hajdušek et al. Read More

Biosens Bioelectron 2018 Feb 16;100:115-121. Epub 2017 Aug 16.

Center of Technological Development in Health (CDTS)/National Institute of Science and Technology for Innovation on Neglected Diseases (INCT-IDN), FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Biochemistry of Pharmaceuticals, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biology Institute, Federal University Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.

Spotted fever is a rare acute and multisystemic febrile infectious disease with a mortality rate of ≥50% without adequate antibiotic treatment, and in diagnosed and treated cases, of approximately 2.5%. Currently, the applied test to diagnose this disease is the indirect immunofluorescence reaction, however two samples of paired sera are necessary to confirm the diagnosis, since using only one sample may allow for confusion with cross reactions. Read More

S D Med 2017 Sep;70(9):410-414

Center for Family Medicine.

In addition to being a nuisance, ticks can carry disease. This article presents a brief review of ticks and associated tick-borne disease relevant to South Dakota and surrounding regions. Tick-borne diseases of special relevance in South Dakota include tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lyme disease. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2017 Aug 17;10(1):390. Epub 2017 Aug 17.

Zoetis, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development, 333 Portage St, Kalamazoo, MI, 49007, USA.

Background: Amblyomma cajennense is the main vector of Rickettsia rickettsii which causes Brazilian spotted fever. This adult tick preferably infests horses and capybaras, but has low host specificity during its immature stages, thus posing a threat to humans and dogs. In this study, the efficacy of sarolaner (Simparic™/Simparica®, Zoetis) when administered once orally to dogs at 2 mg/kg was evaluated against induced infestations of A. Read More

J Clin Diagn Res 2017 Jun 1;11(6):PR01-PR03. Epub 2017 Jun 1.

Postgraduate, Department of Paediatrics, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Rickettsial diseases comprise a wide spectrum of diseases which are reported from different parts of India quiet long ago. Many cases of rickettsial diseases go undiagnos due to lack of diagnostic techniques and the reported incidence and prevalence may be an underestimation of the actual burden of the disease. A higher index of suspicion, clinical awareness and proper use of available diagnostic tools would increase the frequency of diagnosis. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2017 Sep 19;97(3):795-798. Epub 2017 Jul 19.

Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico.

We present a series of four pregnant women with Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) that occurred in Sonora, Mexico, during 2015-2016. Confirmatory diagnoses were made by polymerase chain reaction or serological reactivity to antigens of by using an indirect immunofluorescence antibody assay. Each patient presented with fever and petechial rash and was treated successfully with doxycycline. Read More

Pediatrics 2017 Aug 13;140(2). Epub 2017 Jul 13.

Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

Mercury (Hg) poisoning is considered a rare disease by the National Institutes of Health and the diagnosis can present great challenges to clinicians. Children who are exposed to Hg can present with a wide variety of symptoms, including acrodynia, tremor, excessive salivation, and psychiatric symptoms, including insomnia. However, endocrinologic manifestations from Hg exposure are less well known. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2017 Jul 9;18(7). Epub 2017 Jul 9.

Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) mediate gene silencing by destabilization and/or translational repression of target mRNA. Infection of human microvascular endothelial cells as primary targets of , the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, triggers host responses appertaining to alterations in cellular gene expression. Microarray-based profiling of endothelial cells infected with for 3 or 24 h revealed differential expression of 33 miRNAs, of which miRNAs129-5p, 200a-3p, 297, 200b-3p, and 595 were identified as the top five up-regulated miRNAs (5 to 20-fold, ≤ 0. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017 08 9;17(8):527-538. Epub 2017 Jun 9.

3 Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee , Knoxville, Tennessee.

Ehrlichiosis and rickettsiosis are two common bacterial tick-borne diseases in the southeastern United States. Ehrlichiosis is caused by ehrlichiae transmitted by Amblyomma americanum and rickettsiosis is caused by rickettsiae transmitted by Amblyomma maculatum and Dermacentor variabilis. These ticks are common and have overlapping distributions in the region. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Jun 5;11(6):e0005613. Epub 2017 Jun 5.

Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Background: Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF), caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, is the tick-borne disease that generates the largest number of human deaths in the world. In Brazil, the current increase of BSF human cases has been associated with the presence and expansion of capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, which act as primary hosts for the tick Amblyomma sculptum, vector of the R. rickettsii in this area. Read More