Rickettsia-like organisms in ticks and antibodies to spotted fever-group rickettsiae in mammals from northern Mississippi.

Studies were conducted from April through August during 1974 and 1975 on 30 randomly selected trapping sites in Wall Doxey State Park, Holly Springs National Forest, and 1.6 km south of the park in Marshall County, Mississippi to provide information on the occurrence of ticks involved in the maintenance and transmission of spotted fever-group rickettsiae in nature. Of 365 animals (14 species) collected, 186 (51%) were parasitized by 4,169 ticks. Species of ticks collected included: Dermacentor variabilis; Amblyomma americanum; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; Haemaphysalis leporispalustris; and Ixodes texanus. Of 2,105 ticks examined, 116 (5.5%) were positive for rickettsia-like organisms.