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Volume 31, Number 10—October 2025

Research

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses among Hospitalized Patients and Circulation of Rickettsia in Ticks, Kazakhstan, 2019

Yekaterina V. BumburidiComments to Author , Dmitriy V. Berezovskiy, Bakhytkul T. Zhakipbayeva, Roberta Z. Horth, Alexander J. Millman, William L. Nicholson, Galina E. Zemtsova, Victoria Seffren, Elina R. Maltseva, Zhanna A. Berdygulova, Yekaterina O. Ostapchuk, Yuliya V. Perfilyeva, Andrey M. Dmitrovskiy, Zhansulu K. Dukayeva, and Zhanna Zh. Shapiyeva
Author affiliation: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Central Asia Office, Almaty, Kazakhstan (Y.V. Bumburidi, D.V. Berezovskiy, B.T. Zhakipbayeva, R.Z. Horth, A.J. Millman); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (W.L. Nicholson, G.E. Zemtsova, V. Seffren); Almaty Branch of the National Center for Biotechnology, Almaty (E.R. Maltseva, Z.A. Berdygulova, Y.O. Ostapchuk, Y.V. Perfilyeva, A.M. Dmitrovskiy); Pavlodar Regional Hospital named after Sultanov, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan (Z.K. Dukayeva); Scientific-Practical Center for Sanitary-Epidemiological Expertise and Monitoring, National Center for Public Healthcare, Ministry of Health, Almaty (Z.Z. Shapiyeva)

Main Article

Table 1

Demographic and tick-related behavior characteristics of 62 patients in study of spotted fever group rickettsioses among hospitalized patients and circulation of Rickettsia in ticks, Kazakhstan, 2019

Characteristic No. (%)
Age group, y
>18 53 (85)
<18
 9 (15)
Sex
M 30 (48)
F
 32 (52)
Place of residence
Countryside/suburb* 41 (66)
City
 21 (34)
Owned a summer cottage
9 (15)
Owned pets (cats, dogs)
 34 (55)
Owned livestock
 14 (23)
During the previous 2 weeks
Worked in a garden or orchard 33 (53)
Noticed a tick bite 30 (48)
Went out to the open countryside
 19 (31)
Usual method of tick removal
Removed ticks with bare hands 36 (58)
Removed ticks at the hospital or polyclinic 7 (11)
Using tweezers to remove tick 2 (3)
Using gloves when removing 1 (2)
Other methods of removing 3 (5)
Never removed ticks
 13 (21)
Methods used to protect yourself from ticks
None 42 (68)
Long clothes in several layers, gloves† 14 (23)
Repellents only 5 (8)
Avoided bushes
 1 (2)
Methods used to protect your pets, n = 34‡
None 30 (88)
Insecticides 4 (12)

*If a patient lived in a dacha (summer cottage) for >1 month, the place of residence was considered a suburb. †This number includes 4 patients who used the listed items and repellents. ‡Protection of pets was calculated for patients who had pets.

Main Article

Page created: August 01, 2025
Page updated: September 25, 2025
Page reviewed: September 25, 2025
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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