High prevalence of Rickettsia africae variants in Amblyomma variegatum ticks from domestic mammals in rural Western Kenya: Implications for human health
| dc.contributor.author | Maina, Alice N. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Omulo, Sylvia A. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Jiang, Ju | |
| dc.contributor.author | Cutler, Sally J. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ade, Fredrick | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ogola, Eric | |
| dc.contributor.author | Feikin, Daniel R. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Njenga, M. Kariuki | |
| dc.contributor.author | Cleaveland, Sarah | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mpoke, Solomon | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ng'ang'a, Zipporah | |
| dc.contributor.author | Breiman, Robert F. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Knobel, Darryn L. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Richards, Allen L. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-11-21T13:00:04Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-11-21T13:00:04Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2015-10 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | 10.1089/vbz.2014.1578 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://ir.jooust.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2953 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Tick-borne spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses are emerging human diseases caused by obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Rickettsia. Despite being important causes of systemic febrile illnesses in travelers returning from sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the reservoir hosts of these pathogens. We conducted surveys for rickettsiae in domestic animals and ticks in a rural setting in western Kenya. Of the 100 serum specimens tested from each species of domestic ruminant 43% of goats, 23% of sheep, and 1% of cattle had immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the SFG rickettsiae. None of these sera were positive for IgG against typhus group rickettsiae. We detected Rickettsia africae–genotype DNA in 92.6% of adult Amblyomma variegatum ticks collected from domestic ruminants, but found no evidence of the pathogen in blood specimens from cattle, goats, or sheep. Sequencing of a subset of 21 rickettsia-positive ticks revealed R. africae variants in 95.2% (20/21) of ticks tested. Our findings show a high prevalence of R. africae variants in A. variegatum ticks in western Kenya, which may represent a low disease risk for humans. This may provide a possible explanation for the lack of African tick-bite fever cases among febrile patients in Kenya. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Wellcome Trust | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Mary Ann Liebert, Inc | en_US |
| dc.subject | Ambylomma variegatum | en_US |
| dc.subject | Rickettsia africae | en_US |
| dc.subject | Tick-borne spotted fever group | en_US |
| dc.subject | African tick-bite fever | en_US |
| dc.title | High prevalence of Rickettsia africae variants in Amblyomma variegatum ticks from domestic mammals in rural Western Kenya: Implications for human health | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |
