Detection of and in Inhabiting Two Urban Parks in Oklahoma.

For the past 30 years, the number of people infected with causative agents of ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and spotted fever group rickettiosis (SFGR) has increased in Oklahoma. However, there is a lack of data on pathogen prevalence within urban environments. To assess the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in different environments, 434 (lone star) ticks were collected from the environment in two parks in Edmond, Oklahoma. The presence of spp. and spotted fever group (SFG) spp. was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). 33.6% (146/434) of the ticks were positive for and 15.2% (66/434) were positive for . No ticks were positive for other SFG Rickettsiae () or other Ehrlichiae ( and Panola Mountain ). These studies provide increased understanding of the potential risk for encountering tick-borne pathogens in urban environments.