Rickettsiae in Gulf Coast Ticks, Arkansas, USA

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• Rickettsiae
• vector-borne infections
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Amblyomma maculatum
• Rickettsia parkeri
• Rickettsia amblyommii