Candidatus Rickettsia xinyangensis as Cause of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis, Xinyang, China, 2015

Abstract

In 2015, we evaluated 221 patients with undifferentiated fever and tick bite or animal exposure in Xinyang, China, for Rickettsia infection. Three with mild disease were infected with Candidatus R. xinyangensis, which clustered with R. fournieri and R. vini in phylogenetic analyses. Field investigations suggest Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks might be involved in transmission.

Keywords

• spotted fever group rickettsiae
• rickettsiosis
• human infection
• ticks
• China
• Candidatus Rickettsia xinyangensis