Rickettsia monacensis and Human Disease, Spain

Abstract

We identified Rickettsia monacensis as a cause of acute tickborne rickettsiosis in 2 humans. Its pathogenic role was assessed by culture and detection of the organism in patients’ blood samples. This finding increases the number of recognized human rickettsial pathogens and expands the known geographic distribution of Mediterranean spotted fever–like cases.

Keywords

• Rickettsia monacensis
• new pathogen
• IrITA2
• IrITA3
• IRS3
• IRS4