A new record of Rickettsia japonica in ticks infesting a Burmese ferret-badger in Thailand

Abstract

Ticks are important vectors of arthropod-borne diseases and they can transmit a wide variety of zoonotic pathogens to humans, domestic and wild animals. Rickettsia japonica is a member of SFG ri ckettsi ae causi ng Japanese spotted fever (JSF) and can transmi t to humans vi a infected ticks. In this study, we report the first case of Rickettsia japonica in Haemaphysalis hystricis tick collected from a roadkill Burmese ferret-badger (Melogale personata) in Loei province, northeastern Thailand. According to the DNA sequences and phylogenetic analyses of the outer membrane protein A and B genes (ompA and ompB), the detected R. japonica was identical to those found in JSF patients in Korea, Japan, and China, and closely related to Rickettsia detected by ompA in a tick from Thailand. Further study on the prevalence of R. japoni ca and di versi ty of mammal i an reservoi r hosts wi l l be useful to gai n a better understanding of JSF epidemiology.