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Spotted Fever Group Rickettsial Infection in Dogs from Eastern Arizona
Author(s) -
NICHOLSON WILLIAM L.,
GORDON RONDEEN,
DEMMA LINDA J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1374.102
Subject(s) - rickettsia rickettsii , rocky mountain spotted fever , spotted fever , rhipicephalus sanguineus , tick , virology , biology , tick borne disease , rickettsia , antibody , serology , veterinary medicine , immunology , medicine , ixodidae , virus
A serosurvey of free‐roaming dogs for antibodies to spotted fever group rickettsiae was conducted using archival samples that had been collected in the White Mountain region of eastern Arizona during a plague study in 1996. Immunoglobulin G antibodies to Rickettsia rickettsii (5.1%) and to R. rhipicephali (3.6%) were demonstrated, and no cross‐reactive samples were identified. This study indicates that R. rickettsii was likely present in the dog populations in this area prior to the recognition of human cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). The role of dogs as short‐term reservoirs and primary hosts for the vector tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus , should receive closer attention.