Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions

Rickettsia africae is a bacterium of zoonotic importance, which causes African tick bite fever (ATBF) in humans. This pathogen is transmitted by ticks of the genus Amblyomma, with Amblyomma hebraeum and Amblyomma variegatum being the major vectors. Tick species other than the above-mentioned have a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Estere Mazhetese, Vlademiro Magaia, Elisa Taviani, Luis Neves, Darshana Morar-Leather
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2021-08-01
Series:Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/13291
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850148516703240192
author Estere Mazhetese
Vlademiro Magaia
Elisa Taviani
Luis Neves
Darshana Morar-Leather
author_facet Estere Mazhetese
Vlademiro Magaia
Elisa Taviani
Luis Neves
Darshana Morar-Leather
author_sort Estere Mazhetese
collection DOAJ
description Rickettsia africae is a bacterium of zoonotic importance, which causes African tick bite fever (ATBF) in humans. This pathogen is transmitted by ticks of the genus Amblyomma, with Amblyomma hebraeum and Amblyomma variegatum being the major vectors. Tick species other than the above-mentioned have also been reported to carry R. africae DNA. There is scarcity of information on the epidemiology of this pathogen, yet several cases have been recorded in foreign travellers who visited endemic areas, especially southern Africa. The disease has rarely been described in people from endemic regions. The aim of this study was to discuss the information that is currently available on the epidemiology of R. africae, highlighting the gaps in this field. Furthermore, ATBF cases, clinical signs and the locations where the cases occurred are also listed in this review.
format Article
id doaj-art-b77c4df4c2b64bc19eec756ea73b9c4c
institution OA Journals
issn 1972-2680
language English
publishDate 2021-08-01
publisher The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
record_format Article
series Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
spelling doaj-art-b77c4df4c2b64bc19eec756ea73b9c4c2025-08-20T02:27:14ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802021-08-01150810.3855/jidc.13291Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactionsEstere Mazhetese0Vlademiro Magaia1Elisa Taviani2Luis Neves3Darshana Morar-Leather4Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, Gauteng, South AfricaEduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, MozambiqueEduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, MozambiqueDepartment of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, Gauteng, South AfricaDepartment of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, Gauteng, South Africa Rickettsia africae is a bacterium of zoonotic importance, which causes African tick bite fever (ATBF) in humans. This pathogen is transmitted by ticks of the genus Amblyomma, with Amblyomma hebraeum and Amblyomma variegatum being the major vectors. Tick species other than the above-mentioned have also been reported to carry R. africae DNA. There is scarcity of information on the epidemiology of this pathogen, yet several cases have been recorded in foreign travellers who visited endemic areas, especially southern Africa. The disease has rarely been described in people from endemic regions. The aim of this study was to discuss the information that is currently available on the epidemiology of R. africae, highlighting the gaps in this field. Furthermore, ATBF cases, clinical signs and the locations where the cases occurred are also listed in this review. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/13291African tick bite feverAmblyomma habraeumRickettsia africae
spellingShingle Estere Mazhetese
Vlademiro Magaia
Elisa Taviani
Luis Neves
Darshana Morar-Leather
Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
African tick bite fever
Amblyomma habraeum
Rickettsia africae
title Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions
title_full Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions
title_fullStr Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions
title_full_unstemmed Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions
title_short Rickettsia africae: identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector-pathogen-host interactions
title_sort rickettsia africae identifying gaps in the current knowledge on vector pathogen host interactions
topic African tick bite fever
Amblyomma habraeum
Rickettsia africae
url https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/13291
work_keys_str_mv AT esteremazhetese rickettsiaafricaeidentifyinggapsinthecurrentknowledgeonvectorpathogenhostinteractions
AT vlademiromagaia rickettsiaafricaeidentifyinggapsinthecurrentknowledgeonvectorpathogenhostinteractions
AT elisataviani rickettsiaafricaeidentifyinggapsinthecurrentknowledgeonvectorpathogenhostinteractions
AT luisneves rickettsiaafricaeidentifyinggapsinthecurrentknowledgeonvectorpathogenhostinteractions
AT darshanamorarleather rickettsiaafricaeidentifyinggapsinthecurrentknowledgeonvectorpathogenhostinteractions