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. 2009 Sep;15(9):1471-3.
doi: 10.3201/eid1509.090330.

Rickettsia parkeri in Amblyomma americanum ticks, Tennessee and Georgia, USA

Sara B Cohen  1 , Michael J Yabsley, Laurel E Garrison, James D Freye, Brett G Dunlap, John R Dunn, Daniel G Mead, Timothy F Jones, Abelardo C Moncayo
Affiliations

Rickettsia parkeri in Amblyomma americanum ticks, Tennessee and Georgia, USA

Sara B Cohen et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 Sep.

Abstract

To determine the geographic distribution of the newly recognized human pathogen Rickettsia parkeri, we looked for this organism in ticks from Tennessee and Georgia, USA. Using PCR and sequence analysis, we identified R. parkeri in 2 Amblyomma americanum ticks. This rickettsiosis may be underdiagnosed in the eastern United States.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
Location of ticks, Rickettsia parkeri in ticks, and human cases of rickettsiosis in the United States. Green shading indicates approximate distribution of Amblyomma americanum ticks, which completely overlaps with the known or suspected distribution of A. maculatum. Yellow circles indicate locations where R. parkeri was detected in A. americanum ticks (this study). Red circles indicate locations of confirmed or suspected cases of R. parkeri infection in humans (11).
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