Maina, A. N. et al. (2014) High prevalence of Rickettsia africae variants in Amblyomma variegatum ticks from domestic mammals in rural western Kenya: implications for human health. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 14(10), pp. 693-702. (doi: 10.1089/vbz.2014.1578) (PMID:25325312) (PMCID:PMC4208559)
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Abstract
Tick-borne spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses are emerging human diseases caused by obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Rickettsia. Despite being important causes of systemic febrile illnesses in travelers returning from sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the reservoir hosts of these pathogens. We conducted surveys for rickettsiae in domestic animals and ticks in a rural setting in western Kenya. Of the 100 serum specimens tested from each species of domestic ruminant 43% of goats, 23% of sheep, and 1% of cattle had immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the SFG rickettsiae. None of these sera were positive for IgG against typhus group rickettsiae. We detected Rickettsia africae–genotype DNA in 92.6% of adult Amblyomma variegatum ticks collected from domestic ruminants, but found no evidence of the pathogen in blood specimens from cattle, goats, or sheep. Sequencing of a subset of 21 rickettsia-positive ticks revealed R. africae variants in 95.2% (20/21) of ticks tested. Our findings show a high prevalence of R. africae variants in A. variegatum ticks in western Kenya, which may represent a low disease risk for humans. This may provide a possible explanation for the lack of African tick-bite fever cases among febrile patients in Kenya.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Knobel, Mr Darryn and Cleaveland, Professor Sarah |
| Authors: | Maina, A. N., Jiang, J., Omulo, S. A., Cutler, S. J., Ade, F., Ogola, E., Feikin, D. R., Njenga, M. K., Cleaveland, S., Mpoke, S., Ng'ang'a, Z., Breiman, R. F., Knobel, D. L., and Richards, A. L. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine |
| Journal Name: | Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases |
| Publisher: | Mary Ann Liebert |
| ISSN: | 1530-3667 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1557-7759 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2014 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 14(10):693-702 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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