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. 2008 Jul;14(7):1067-73.
doi: 10.3201/eid1407.070096.

Spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks, Morocco

Mhammed Sarih  1 , Cristina Socolovschi, Najma Boudebouch, Mohammed Hassar, Didier Raoult, Philippe Parola
Affiliations

Spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks, Morocco

Mhammed Sarih et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

A total of 370 ticks, encompassing 7 species from 4 genera, were collected during 2002-2006 from domestic animals and vegetation in the Taza region of northeastern Morocco. Rickettsial DNA was identified in 101 ticks (27%) by sequencing PCR products of fragments of the citrate synthase and outer membrane protein genes of Rickettsia spp. Seven rickettsiae of the spotted fever group were identified, including 4 pathogens: R. aeschlimannii in Hyalomma marginatum marginatum, R. massiliae in Rhipicephalus sanguineus, R. slovaca in Dermacentor marginatus, and R. monacensis in Ixodes ricinus. Two suspected pathogens were also detected (R. raoultii in D. marginatus and R. helvetica in I. ricinus). An incompletely described Rickettsia sp. was detected in Haemaphysalis spp. ticks.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
Distribution of ticks in Morocco from which rickettsial DNA was detected by PCR. A) Rhipicephalus sanguineus, B) Haemaphysalis sulcata, C) Ha. punctata, D) Ixodes ricinus, E) Hyalomma marginatum marginatum, F) Dermacentor marginatus. Green circles indicate areas where ticks were collected and found to harbor rickettsiae. Ovals indicate distribution of each tick species in which rickettsial DNA was detected by PCR.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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