Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista, Avenida 24-A, 1515, Bairro Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP, CEP13506-900, Brazil; Grupo de Investigación GEBIOME, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Caldas, Calle 65 No. 26-10 Apartado Aéreo 275 Manizales, Caldas, Colombia.
Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, CEP 05508-000, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2018 May;9(4):819-823. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.03.006. Epub 2018 Mar 9.
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. Of the 204 samples analyzed, 11.3% (23) were positive for rickettsial infection. Three Rickettsia species belonging to the SFG were found, constituting the first reports of Rickettsia rickettsii in 2 departments of Colombia. Furthermore, we confirmed the first occurrence of Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae in Colombia, a species with an unknown pathogenic role in humans. These results raise awareness regarding the need to increase epidemiological control measures, as well as to consider new endemic regions in Colombia for Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF).
立克次体病是新出现或再现的疾病，分布于世界各地，与节肢动物媒介传播有关。立克次体属斑点热群（SFG），由硬蜱（节肢动物门：蜱螨目）传播，硬蜱既是传播媒介又是储存宿主。本研究通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）扩增柠檬酸合酶“gltA”基因和外膜蛋白“ompA”基因片段，对从家养宿主身上采集的 7 种蜱科物种进行了立克次体分子检测。在分析的 204 个样本中，有 11.3%（23 个）检测到立克次体感染呈阳性。发现了 3 种属于 SFG 的立克次体，这是哥伦比亚 2 个地区首次报告的立氏立克次体。此外，我们还证实了哥伦比亚安德拉氏卡尼亚立克次体的首次出现，这是一种在人类中致病性未知的物种。这些结果表明需要加强流行病学控制措施，并考虑将哥伦比亚的新地区列为落矶山斑点热（RMSF）的地方性疫区。
