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Background   Rickettsia africae  is the agent of African tick bite fever, a disease transmitted by ticks in sub-Saharan Africa. In Union of the Comoros, a recent study reported the presence of a  Rickettsia africae  vector but no information has been provided on the circulation of the pathogenic agent in this country.    Methods  To evaluate the possible circulation of  Rickettsia  spp. in Comorian cattle, genomic DNA was extracted from 512 ticks collected either in the Union of the Comoros or from animals imported from Tanzania and subsequently tested for  Rickettsia  infection by quantitative PCR.    Results   Rickettsia africae  was detected in 90% (60/67) of  Amblyomma variegatum , 1% (1/92) of  Rhipicephalus appendiculatus  and 2.7% (8/296) of  Rhipicephalus  ( Boophilus )  microplus  ticks collected in the Union of the Comoros, as well as in 77.14% (27/35) of  Amblyomma variegatum  ticks collected from imported cattle. Partial sequences of both bacterial  gltA  and  ompA  genes were used in a phylogenetic analysis revealing the presence of several haplotypes, all included within the  Rickettsia africae  clade.    Conclusions  Our study reports the first evidence of  Rickettsia africae  in ticks collected from the Union of the Comoros. The data show a significant difference of infection rate of  Rickettsia africae  infected ticks between the Islands, with maximum rates measured in Grande Comore Island, sheltering the main entry port for live animal importation from Tanzania. The high infection levels reported herein indicate the need for an in-depth assessment of the burden of rickettsioses in the Union of the Comoros, especially among those at risk of infection, such as cattle herders.

First molecular detection of Rickettsia africae in ticks from the Union of the Comoros