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 Jun 12. Epub 2017 Jun 12.

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 Rickettsia rickettsii 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 Rickettsiarickettsii, 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 R. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017 Aug 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

N C Med J 2017 May-Jun;78(3):156-163

biostatistics lecturer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; biostatistician, Rho, Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina

BACKGROUND Tick bites are a source of illness and disease agents that may lead to morbidity and occasional fatalities in North Carolina. Public health interest in tick-borne illness and disease has increased due to continuing discoveries of tick-borne diseases and their increasing geographic spread and disease incidence. There are no data published on lay individuals with cumulative tick bites and associated illnesses over a period of years. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2017 28;7:129. Epub 2017 Apr 28.

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

Rickettsia rickettsii is a tick-borne obligate intracellular bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). In Brazil, two species of ticks in the genus Amblyomma, A. sculptum and A. Read More

PeerJ 2017 13;5:e3202. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States of America.

The Pacific coast tick, Dermacentor occidentalis Marx, is found throughout California and can harbor agents that cause human diseases such as anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and rickettsiosis 364D. Previous studies have demonstrated that nonpathogenic endosymbiotic bacteria can interfere with Rickettsia co-infections in other tick species. We hypothesized that within D. Read More

JAAPA 2017 May;30(5):30-32

Christina Gardner practices in the ED and VelocityCare Clinics at Carilion Clinic, is director of the Advanced ACP Fellowship in Urgent Care and Rural Health, and is an assistant professor in the PA program at Jefferson College of Health Sciences, all in Roanoke, Va. The author has disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

This article describes a man who presented to the ED in acute distress with signs and symptoms of sepsis, pneumonia, and a new petechial rash on his chest. He was eventually diagnosed with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Aggressive treatment of sepsis and timely administration of empiric antibiotics were lifesaving in this situation. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2017 Jun 12;8(4):615-622. Epub 2017 Apr 12.

Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States.

Rickettsia rickettsii - the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) - is widely spread across the Americas. In the US, Dermacentor spp. ticks are identified as primary vectors of R. Read More

Lancet Infect Dis 2017 Jun 30;17(6):e189-e196. Epub 2017 Mar 30.

National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne zoonosis caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, is among the most lethal of all infectious diseases in the Americas. In Mexico, the disease was first described during the early 1940s by scientists who carefully documented specific environmental determinants responsible for devastating outbreaks in several communities in the states of Sinaloa, Sonora, Durango, and Coahuila. These investigators also described the pivotal roles of domesticated dogs and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (brown dog ticks) as drivers of epidemic levels of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Read More

Neurology 2017 Mar;88(11):e92-e95

From the Departments of Neurology (M.J.B., N.V.) and Medicine (Infectious Disease) and Health Policy (K.C.B.), Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology (K.B.L.), and Pediatric Neuroradiology (S.P.), Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN.

Parasit Vectors 2017 Mar 4;10(1):125. Epub 2017 Mar 4.

Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.

Background: Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular bacteria responsible for many febrile syndromes around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Vectors of these pathogens include ticks, lice, mites and fleas. In order to assess exposure to flea-associated Rickettsia species in Madagascar, human and small mammal samples from an urban and a rural area, and their associated fleas were tested. Read More

Appl Environ Microbiol 2017 May 17;83(9). Epub 2017 Apr 17.

Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA.

In 1953, investigators at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, MT, described the isolation of a spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) species from Dermacentor parumapertus ticks collected from black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) in northern Nevada. Several decades later, investigators characterized this SFGR (designated the parumapertus agent) by using mouse serotyping methods and determined that it represented a distinct rickettsial serotype closely related to Rickettsia parkeri; nonetheless, the parumapertus agent was not further characterized or studied. To our knowledge, no isolates of the parumapertus agent remain in any rickettsial culture collection, which precludes contemporary phylogenetic placement of this enigmatic SFGR. Read More

Arch Argent Pediatr 2017 02;115(1):e5-e8

Laboratorio de Enfermedades Emergentes y Reemergentes, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales "Dr. Hideyo Noguchi" (CIR), Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, México.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, a bacteria transmitted by infected ticks. It is characterized by fever, exanthema, arthralgias and myalgias; but sometimes its clinical presentation is non specific. Due to its similarities with other exanthematic diseases like dengue or chikungunya, Rocky Mountain spotted fever is not a first line diagnosis, even though countries like Mexico show the ecologic and socioeconomic characteristics that favor its transmission, with a 30% mortality rate among pediatric patients. Read More

Workplace Health Saf 2017 Jan;65(1):48

1 University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The tick-borne disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) can have deadly outcomes unless treated appropriately, yet nonspecific flu-like symptoms complicate diagnosis. Occupational health nurses must have a high index of suspicion with symptomatic workers and recognize that recent recreational or occupational activities with potential tick exposure may suggest RMSF. Read More

J Bacteriol 2017 Mar 28;199(6). Epub 2017 Feb 28.

Host-Parasite Interactions Section, Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, USA

Rickettsia rickettsii, the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, contains two immunodominant proteins, rOmpA and rOmpB, in the outer membrane. Both rOmpA and rOmpB are conserved throughout spotted fever group rickettsiae as members of a family of autotransporter proteins. Previously, it was demonstrated that rOmpB is proteolytically processed, with the cleavage site residing near the autotransporter domain at the carboxy-terminal end of the protein, cleaving the 168-kDa precursor into apparent 120-kDa and 32-kDa fragments. Read More

Pediatr Dermatol 2017 Mar 19;34(2):119-123. Epub 2016 Dec 19.

Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Background/objectives: Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), a lethal tick-borne illness, is prevalent in the south central United States. Children younger than 10 years old have the greatest risk of fatal outcome from RMSF. The objective of the current study was to review pediatric cases of RMSF seen in the dermatology consult service and to evaluate dermatology's role in the diagnosis and management of this disease. Read More

Am Fam Physician 2016 Oct;94(7):551-557

Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA.

Several mosquito-borne viral infections have recently emerged in North America; West Nile virus is the most common in the United States. Although West Nile virus generally causes a self-limited, flulike febrile illness, a serious neuroinvasive form may occur. Dengue is the most common vector-borne viral disease worldwide, and it has been a significant public health threat in the United States since 2009. Read More

Acta Trop 2017 Feb 21;166:225-233. Epub 2016 Nov 21.

Faculdade de Saúde Pública - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Superintendência de Controle de Endemias, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address:

Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii. In the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (SPMR) it is transmitted by Amblyomma aureolatum ticks. In this region, annual lethality of the disease can reach 80% and spatial occurrence depends on environmental factors and more particularly on the presence and interaction of domestic and wild carnivores as well as the presence and characteristics of the remnant Atlantic Rain Forest patches. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016 Nov 25;65(46):1302-1303. Epub 2016 Nov 25.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), a life-threatening tickborne zoonosis caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, is a reemerging disease in Mexico (1,2). R. rickettsii is an intracellular bacterium that infects vascular endothelium and can cause multisystem organ failure and death in the absence of timely administration of a tetracycline-class antibiotic, typically doxycycline. Read More

Gac Med Mex 2016 Nov - Dec;152(6):789-795

Servicio de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital Infantil del Estado de Sonora, Hermosillo, Son., México.

Background: Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a life threatening disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsia, characterized by multisystem involvement.

Methods: We studied 19 dead children with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. All children who were suspected of having rickettsial infections were defined as having Rocky Mountain spotted fever by serology test and clinical features. Read More

Exp Appl Acarol 2016 Dec 4;70(4):483-489. Epub 2016 Nov 4.

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Embrapa Gado de Corte, Avenida Rádio Maia, 830, Campo Grande, MS, CEP 79106-550, Brazil.

Ticks from Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex are widely distributed in the world and one species from this complex is the most common tick on dogs in Brazil, notably in urban areas. This tick is a vector of several diseases. Among others it transmits the agent of canine Ehrlichiosis, a major dog infectious disease and the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Read More

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 2016 Sep-Oct;49(5):653-655

Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii. Because of its high case-fatality rate and apparent increase in areas of transmission, it is considered to be the rickettsial illness of primary public health interest. Cases of this disease have historically occurred in Southeastern Brazil. Read More

Natl Med J India 2016 May-Jun;29(3):166-168

Department of Pathology, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Malleswaram, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Geographic eponyms have commonly been used in medical terminology, with diseases and medical entities being named after the place where the condition was discovered (e.g. Bombay Blood group) or invented (Jaipur Foot) or where the disease was first detected (Rocky Mountain Spotted fever) or where a consensus meeting has been held (Banff) or for other reasons (Argentina flag, Congo red stain). Read More

Surv Ophthalmol 2016 Nov - Dec;61(6):726-744. Epub 2016 Apr 7.

Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Electronic address:

Tick-borne illnesses are a significant disease burden worldwide. Diagnosis is challenging and requires a high level of clinical suspicion. Ocular manifestations reported in association with tick-borne disease are mostly as case reports and small case series because of the relative infrequency with which they occur; however, given the global nature of health care and increase in travel in the 21st century, it is important for ophthalmologists to be aware of ocular manifestations of these diseases because early diagnosis may reduce morbidity and mortality. Read More

Med Vet Entomol 2016 Dec 28;30(4):410-415. Epub 2016 Sep 28.

Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Argentina.

The aim of this work was to test the vectorial competence of Amblyomma tonelliae (Ixodida: Ixodidae) to transmit Rickettsia rickettsii (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae), the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). All parasitic stages of A. tonelliae were exposed to R. Read More

Curr Opin Ophthalmol 2016 Nov;27(6):530-537

aMayo Medical School bDepartment of Ophthalmology cMayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

Purpose Of Review: Tick-borne diseases are increasing in incidence and geographic distribution. Several diseases endemic to the United States have ophthalmic manifestations, including the most common tick-borne disease, Lyme borreliosis. As ocular complaints may lead a patient to seek medical evaluation, it is important to be aware of the systemic and ophthalmic manifestations of tick-borne diseases in order to make the correct diagnosis. Read More

J Spec Oper Med 2016 ;16(3):63-64

Medicina (B Aires) 2016;76(5):317-320

Cátedra de Anatomía Patológica, Hospital ángel C. Padilla, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina.

On the fifth day after leaving the Parque Nacional El Rey, province of Salta, Argentina, where she made rural tourism, a woman of Italian origin, aged 47, developed an acute fever followed by a petechial and purpuric rash that progressed rapidly to multiorgan failure. She died on the sixth day after hospitalization. There were references to tick bites and a skin lesion similar to tache noire was found. Read More

Int J Dermatol 2017 Mar 1;56(3):252-259. Epub 2016 Oct 1.

Division of Clinical Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.

Climate change refers to variation in the climate of a specific region or globally over time. A change has been reported in the epidemiology of tick- and mosquito-borne diseases in recent decades. Investigators have postulated that this effect may be associated with climate change. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2016 Sep 13;9:499. Epub 2016 Sep 13.

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: Rickettsia rickettsii is vectored by ticks, and some vertebrate hosts can be sources of infection to ticks during bacteremic periods. In Brazil, the main vector for R. rickettsii is the tick Amblyomma sculptum, a member of the A. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2016 Oct 3;7(6):1139-1145. Epub 2016 Sep 3.

Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Dr. Balmis 148 Col. Doctores, Delegación Cuauhtémoc, C.P. 06726 Ciudad de México, México; Centro de Medicina Tropical, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Dr. Balmis 148 Col. Doctores, Delegación Cuauhtémoc, C.P. 06726 Ciudad de México, México.

We report the first case of "Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii" detected in Amblyomma mixtum ticks on humans on the west coast of Mexico. This is the most western record of "Ca. R. Read More

Salud Publica Mex 2016 Jun;58(3):385-92

Objective: Characterize clinical manifestations and predictors of mortality in children hospitalized for spotted fever.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional study in 210 subjects with a diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in a pediatric hospital in Sonora, from January 1st, 2004 to June 30th, 2015. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2016 Oct 10;7(6):1155-1161. Epub 2016 Aug 10.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, United States.

Understanding how ticks survive the multitude of stresses experienced during winter is integral to predicting population dynamics and transmission of tick-borne pathogens. The American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), a predominant vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, overwinters in any of its post-egg life stages. In this study, we characterized the cold tolerance of larval D. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2016 29;6:80. Epub 2016 Jul 29.

Vector Borne Disease Laboratories, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Baton Rouge, LA, USA.

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae are recognized as important agents of human tick-borne diseases worldwide, such as Mediterranean spotted fever (Rickettsia conorii) and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (Rickettsia rickettsii). Recent studies in several animal models have provided evidence of non-endothelial parasitism by pathogenic SFG Rickettsia species, suggesting that the interaction of rickettsiae with cells other than the endothelium may play an important role in pathogenesis of rickettsial diseases. These studies raise the hypothesis that the role of macrophages in rickettsial pathogenesis may have been underappreciated. Read More

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016 Jul 8;65(26):678-80. Epub 2016 Jul 8.

On July 7, 2015, a man aged 22 years reported to sick call during basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), Texas. He had erythematous, crusted papulovesicular lesions on the extensor surfaces of the upper and lower extremities. The patient was afebrile and otherwise well, and was evaluated later that day by the dermatology service. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2016 Sep 20;95(3):551-3. Epub 2016 Jun 20.

Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil is the state with the second highest number of laboratory-confirmed cases of spotted fever illness in Brazil. However, all these cases were confirmed solely by serological analysis (seroconversion to spotted fever group rickettsiae), which has not allowed identification of the rickettsial agent. Here, a clinical case of spotted fever illness from Santa Catarina is shown by seroconversion and molecular analysis to be caused by Rickettsia sp. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2016 06 10;9(1):331. Epub 2016 Jun 10.

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

Background: Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiological agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, is transmitted to humans by ticks. During tick feeding, R. rickettsii is exposed to both temperature elevation and components of the blood meal, which have previously been associated with the reactivation of its virulence. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2016 Jul 26;7(5):1029-1034. Epub 2016 May 26.

Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States.

The definitive diagnosis of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses in humans is challenging due to the retrospective nature and cross reactivity of the serological methods and the absence of reliable and consistent samples for molecular diagnostics. Existing data indicate the transient character of bacteremia in experimentally infected animals. The ability of arthropod vectors to acquire rickettsial infection from the laboratory animals in the absence of systemic infection and known tropism of rickettsial agents to endothelial cells of peripheral blood vessels underline the importance of local infection and consequently the diagnostic potential of skin samples. Read More

J Ark Med Soc 2016 May;112(13):254-8

Tick-borne diseases are illnesses transmitted by ticks harboring wide variety of pathogens. Arkansas is reported as one of the states with a high incidence of tick-borne diseases. In Arkansas the four most frequently occurring tick-borne diseases are Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF, also known as Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis), Ehrlichiosis, Tularemia and Anaplasmosis. Read More

PLoS One 2016 20;11(5):e0155989. Epub 2016 May 20.

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama.

In the tropics, ticks parasitize many classes of vertebrate hosts. However, because many tropical tick species are only identifiable in the adult stage, and these adults usually parasitize mammals, most attention on the ecology of tick-host interactions has focused on mammalian hosts. In contrast, immature Neotropical ticks are often found on wild birds, yet difficulties in identifying immatures hinder studies of birds' role in tropical tick ecology and tick-borne disease transmission. Read More

MMWR Recomm Rep 2016 May 13;65(2):1-44. Epub 2016 May 13.

National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia.

Tickborne rickettsial diseases continue to cause severe illness and death in otherwise healthy adults and children, despite the availability of low-cost, effective antibacterial therapy. Recognition early in the clinical course is critical because this is the period when antibacterial therapy is most effective. Early signs and symptoms of these illnesses are nonspecific or mimic other illnesses, which can make diagnosis challenging. Read More

PLoS One 2016 11;11(4):e0153303. Epub 2016 Apr 11.

Department of Public Health, State University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.

Equines play a role in the epidemiology of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) since they are a primary host for the tick Amblyomma sculptum. We studied the seroprevalence for three species of Rickettsia in equines in four endemic (with human cases) and in four non-endemic areas (no human cases) in the Piracicaba River Basin, São Paulo, Brazil. A serological survey of 504 equines was performed: around 63 animals were sampled in each area and tested through indirect immunofluorescence assay for R. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2016 Jun 28;94(6):1212-7. Epub 2016 Mar 28.

Vector-Borne Diseases Section, Communicable and Environmental Diseases, Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee; Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas; Departments of Medicine and Health Policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most common tick-borne disease in Tennessee. However, Rickettsia rickettsii has rarely been isolated from endemic ticks, suggesting rickettsioses may be caused by other species. A total of 56 human serum samples that were serologically positive for exposure to Rickettsia were obtained from commercial laboratories in 2010 and 2011. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2016 Jul 10;7(5):748-753. Epub 2016 Mar 10.

Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica; Sección de Entomología Médica, Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica. Electronic address:

The zoonotic transmission cycles of Rickettsia rickettsii and other spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae in Latin America have usually been associated with rural or sylvatic environments, although domestic dogs can be implicated in more populated settings. In this study, exposure of dogs to SFG rickettsiae in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica was investigated. Dogs from sites associated with human cases and from dog shelters were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using antigen of SFG rickettsiae. Read More

Curr Sports Med Rep 2016 Mar-Apr;15(2):98-104

Madigan Army Medical Center, Department of Family Medicine, Fort Lewis, WA.

Tick-borne diseases are prevalent throughout the United States. These illnesses are caused by a variety of different pathogens that use ticks as vectors, including bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, and protozoa. Some of the most common illnesses caused by ticks are Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, and Powassan disease. Read More

PLoS One 2016 4;11(3):e0150180. Epub 2016 Mar 4.

Center for Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases, Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, United States of America.

This study aims to examine the spatio-temporal dynamics of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) prevalence in four contiguous states of Midwestern United States, and to determine the impact of environmental and socio-economic factors associated with this disease. Bayesian hierarchical models were used to quantify space and time only trends and spatio-temporal interaction effect in the case reports submitted to the state health departments in the region. Various socio-economic, environmental and climatic covariates screened a priori in a bivariate procedure were added to a main-effects Bayesian model in progressive steps to evaluate important drivers of RMSF space-time patterns in the region. Read More