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Volume 25, Number 5—May 2019
Research Letter

Rickettsiales in Ticks Removed from Outdoor Workers, Southwest Georgia and Northwest Florida, USA

Elizabeth R. Gleim1Comments to Author , L. Mike Conner, Galina E. Zemtsova, Michael L. Levin, Pamela Wong, Madeleine A. Pfaff, and Michael J. Yabsley
Author affiliations: Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway, Newton, Georgia, USA (E.R. Gleim, L.M. Conner); Oxford College of Emory University, Oxford, Georgia, USA (E.R. Gleim, P. Wong); University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA (E.R. Gleim, M.A. Pfaff, M.J. Yabsley); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (G.E. Zemtsova, M.L. Levin)

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Table

Prevalence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, PME, and Rickettsia spp. in ticks submitted by outdoor workers, southwestern Georgia and northwestern Florida, USA*

Tick species and stage Months submitted No. positive ticks/no. tested (%)
 Rickettsia spp.†
E. chaffeensis PME Rickettsia spp.
Amblyomma americanum, adults Feb–Sep 0/11 (0) 0/11 (0) 4/11 (36.4) 2 R. amblyommatis
A. americanum nymphs‡ Mar–Sep 0/43 (0) 0/43 (0) 12/43 (27.9) 9 R. amblyommatis
A. americanum larvae‡ Apr and Oct 0/5 (0) 0/5 (0) 1/5 (20.0) 1 R.amblyommatis
Amblyomma sp. nymphs Jun and Oct 0/3 (0) 0/3 (0) 1/3 (33.3) 1 R. amblyommatis§
Amblyomma sp. larvae Oct 0/5 (0) 0/5 (0) 0/5 (0)
A. maculatum adults May–Oct 1/83 (1.2) 2/83 (2.4)¶ 18/83 (21.7) 5 R. amblyommatis,§ 
4 R. parkeri,§ 1 Rickettsia sp. TR-39/TX125, 2 Candidatus R. andeanae
A. tuberculatum nymphs‡ Apr 0/5 (0) 0/5 (0) 1/5 (5.0) 1 novel SFG Rickettsia sp.
A. tuberculatum larvae‡ Feb# 0/182 (0) 0/182 (0) 10/182 (5.5)** 10 novel SFG Rickettsia sp.**
Dermacentor variabilis adults Jun–Aug 0/10 (0) 1/10 (10.0) 2/10 (20.0) 1 R. amblyommatis§
Ixodes scapularis adults Oct–Mar NT 0/15 (0) 7/15 (46.7) 4 Rickettsia sp. TR-39, 3 R. buchneri

*All Rickettsia spp. were identified by sequencing unless otherwise noted. NT, not tested; PME, Panola Mountain Ehrlichia sp., SFG, spotted fever group.
†Rickettsia spp. for whom amplicons did not provide high-quality bidirectional sequences were categorized as unknown Rickettsia spp.
‡Minimum infection prevalence is no. positive tick pools/no. ticks tested.
§The following R. amblyommatis samples were identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis: for 1 D. variabilis adult, 5 A. maculatum adults, and 1 Amblyomma sp. nymph; for A. americanum, 1 adult, 2 nymphs, and 1 larva. Three A. maculatum adults were also identified as containing R. parkeri positive by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.
¶Data included in Loftis et al. (5).
#Date was known only for 1 submission of 20 larvae. Dates for others were not provided when submitted.
**Data included in Zemtsova et al. (6).

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References
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  6. Zemtsova  GE, Gleim  E, Yabsley  MJ, Conner  LM, Mann  T, Brown  MD, et al. Detection of a novel spotted fever group Rickettsia in the gophertortoise tick. J Med Entomol. 2012;49:783–6. DOIPubMed
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1Current affiliation: Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia, USA.

Page created: April 17, 2019
Page updated: April 17, 2019
Page reviewed: April 17, 2019
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.
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