Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 15, Number 9—September 2009
Dispatch

Rickettsia parkeri in Amblyomma americanum Ticks, Tennessee and Georgia, USA

Sara B. Cohen, Michael J. Yabsley, Laurel E. Garrison, James D. Freye, Brett G. Dunlap, John R. Dunn, Daniel G. Mead, Timothy F. Jones, and Abelardo C. MoncayoComments to Author 
Author affiliations: Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA (S.B. Cohen, J.R. Dunn, T.F. Jones, A.C. Moncayo); University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA (M.J. Yabsley, D.G. Mead); Georgia Department of Community Health, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (L.E. Garrison); United States Department of Agriculture, Madison, Tennessee, USA (J.D. Freye, B.G. Dunlap)

Main Article

Figure

Location of ticks, Rickettsia parkeri in ticks, and human cases of rickettsiosis in the United States. Green shading indicates approximate distribution of Amblyomma americanum ticks, which completely overlaps with the known or suspected distribution of A. maculatum. Yellow circles indicate locations where R. parkeri was detected in A. americanum ticks (this study). Red circles indicate locations of confirmed or suspected cases of R. parkeri infection in humans (11).

Figure. Location of ticks, Rickettsia parkeri in ticks, and human cases of rickettsiosis in the United States. Green shading indicates approximate distribution of Amblyomma americanum ticks, which completely overlaps with the known or suspected distribution of A. maculatum. Yellow circles indicate locations where R. parkeri was detected in A. americanum ticks (this study). Red circles indicate locations of confirmed or suspected cases of R. parkeri infection in humans (11).

Main Article

References
  1. Parker  RR, Hohls  GM, Cox  GW, David  GE. Observations on an infectious agent from Amblyomma maculatum. Public Health Rep. 1939;54:14824.
  2. Paddock  CD, Sumner  JW, Comer  JA, Zaki  SR, Goldsmith  CS, Goddard  J, Rickettsia parkeri: a newly recognized cause of spotted fever rickettsiosis in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2004;38:80511. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Ralph  D, Pretzman  C, Daugherty  N, Poetter  K. Genetic relationships among the members of the family Rickettsiaceae as shown by DNA restriction fragment polymorphism analysis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1990;590:54152. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Sumner  JW, Durden  LA, Goddard  J, Stromdahl  EY, Clark  KL, Reeves  WK, Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) and Rickettsia parkeri, United States. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13:7513.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Goddard  J. Experimental infection of lone star ticks, Amblyomma americanum (L.), with Rickettsia parkeri and exposure of guinea pigs to the agent. J Med Entomol. 2003;40:6869.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Merten  HA, Durden  LA. A state-by-state survey of ticks recorded from humans in the United States. J Vector Ecol. 2000;25:10213.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. Labruna  MB, Whitworth  T, Bouyer  DH, McBride  JW, Camargo  LMA, Camargo  EP, Rickettsia bellii and Rickettsia amblyommii in Amblyomma ticks from the State of Rondonia, Western Amazon, Brazil. J Med Entomol. 2004;41:107381.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Eremeeva  M, Yu  X, Raoult  D. Differentiation among spotted fever group rickettsiae species by analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism of PCR-amplified DNA. J Clin Microbiol. 1994;32:80310.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Durden  LA, Kollars  TM Jr. An annotated list of the ticks (Acari: Ixodoidea) of Tennessee, with records of four exotic species for the United States. Bulletin of the Society of Vector Ecology. 1992;17:12531.
  10. Childs  JE, Paddock  CD. The ascendancy of Amblyomma americanum as a vector of pathogens affecting humans in the United States. Annu Rev Entomol. 2003;48:30737. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Paddock  CD, Finley  RW, Wright  CS, Robinson  HN, Schrodt  BJ, Lane  CC, Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis and its clinical distinction from Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Clin Infect Dis. 2008;47:118896. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Apperson  CS, Engber  B, Nicholson  WL, Mead  DG, Engel  J, Yabsley  MJ, Tick-borne diseases in North Carolina: is “Rickettsia amblyommii” a possible cause of rickettsiosis reported as Rocky Mountain spotted fever? Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2008;8:597606. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Raoult  D, Paddock  CD. Rickettsia parkeri infection and other spotted fevers in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:6267. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Parola  P, Paddock  CD, Raoult  D. Tick-borne rickettsioses around the world: emerging diseases challenging old concepts. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2005;18:71956. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Whitman  TJ, Richards  AL, Paddock  CD, Tamminga  CL, Sniezek  PJ, Jiang  J, Rickettsia parkeri infection after tick bite, Virginia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13:3346. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

Main Article

Page created: December 07, 2010
Page updated: December 07, 2010
Page reviewed: December 07, 2010
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external