[A molecular epidemiologic investigation of north Asia fever in scenic spots of Beijing suburb]

Abstract

PCR/RFLP technique was used to detect spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) in ticks and small mammals collected in eleven scenic spots of Beijing suburb. We not only detected Rickettsia sibirica in D. sinicus and hedgehog collected nearby the Museum of Aviation, but also isolated two strains of SFGR from them, named as BJ-95 strain and BJH-95 strain respectively. The two strains were identified as R. sibirica by SDS-PAGE, Western blot and PCR/RFLP. The results demonstrated the existence of horizontal transmission of R. sibirica between ticks and small mammals and showed the most scenic spots except the vicinity of Museum of Aviation being investigated were safe to North Asia Fever. This is the first report on the isolation of R. sibirica in hedgehogs.