All Posts Tagged With: "rickettsiae"

Link: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=21083370&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

Abstract The presence of antibodies toOccurrence of Spotted Fever Rickettsiosessera of 129 forest
workers from northeastern and southern Poland was assayed by indirect
immunofluorescence. Previous environmental studies revealed presence of
spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae in ticks collected from these areas.
Additionally, the workers were examinated for the presence of antibodies
specific to other tick-borne bacteria: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella
spp., and B.
burgdorferi. 
The results of the studies have shown the presence of specific SFG
rickettsiae antibodies in 14.7% of tested forest workers, among them 78.9%
had species-specific antibodies to R. massiliae. Contrary to previous
detection R.
helvetica and R. slovaca in ticks collected in the environment of the
examined area, no species-specific antibodies to these species were detected
in studied workers. Antibodies to B. burgdorferi (44%) were found in forest
workers more often than antibodies to other tested pathogens. B. burgdorferi
was also the main component of coinfections. The most frequent confirmed
serologically coinfections were simultaneous infections with B. burgdorferi
and Bartonella spp. found in 10% of tested individuals. So far, SFG
rickettsiae infections have not been diagnosed in Poland; however, the
presence of the bacteria in ticks and presence of specific antibodies in
humans exposed to arthropods show the need for monitoring the situation. The
list of tick-borne pathogens is increasing, but knowledge about the
possibility of humans acquiring multipathogens infections after tick bite
still needs evaluation.

Full article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2904298/?tool=pubmed

Excerpt:

Several pathogenic Rickettsia species can be transmitted via Ixodes ricinus ticks to humans and animals. Surveys of I. ricinus for the presence of Rickettsiae using part of its 16S rRNA gene yield a plethora of new and different Rickettsia sequences. Interpreting these data is sometimes difficult and presenting these findings as new or potentially pathogenic Rickettsiae should be done with caution: a recent report suggested presence of a known human pathogen, R. australis, in questing I. ricinus ticks in Europe. A refined analysis of these results revealed that R. helvetica was most likely to be misinterpreted as R. australis. Evidence in the literature is accumulating that rickettsial DNA sequences found in tick lysates can also be derived from other sources than viable, pathogenic Rickettsiae. For example, from endosymbionts, environmental contamination or even horizontal gene transfer.

Full article: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/index.htm

Excerpt:

To determine the cause of spotted fever cases in the southern United States, we screened Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) collected in Arkansas for rickettsiae. Of the screened ticks, 30% had PCR amplicons consistent with Rickettsia parkeri or Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified Arkansas as a leading state for the incidence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (causative agent Rickettsia rickettsii) and reported >15 cases per 1,000,000 persons in 2002 (1). Given the known cross-reactivity of serologic testing results for spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsia, it is unclear if cases outside the natural range of the vectors for R. rickettsii are misdiagnosed, if the pathogen is less virulent than previously suggested, or if additional rickettsiae are responsible for pathogenesis (2).

 

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pu
bmed&id=20350056&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

Dr. Robert Lane received a B.A. degree in psychology from the
University of California at Berkeley (UCB), an M.A. degree in
biology at San Francisco State College, and a Ph.D. in entomology
at UCB. While employed as a California State public health
biologist he began his long-standing studies of the biology of
ticks and the ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne disease
agents. In 1984, Dr. Lane joined the faculty of UCB as a medical
entomologist, a position he has held until the present. The
diseases he and his many co-workers have investigated include
Colorado tick fever, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, relapsing
fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and particularly
Lyme disease. Findings from these studies have elucidated the
basic transmission cycles of and risk factors for spotted
fever-group rickettsiae and Lyme disease spirochetes in the far
western United States. Bob is a Fellow of both the California
Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, a recipient of a UCB Biology Faculty
Research Award and the C.W.