Other spotted fever rickettsioses

[Dorothey Allen]

Various rickettsiae transmitted by ixodid ticks cause spotted fever rickettsioses similar to but milder than Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Symptoms are an initial skin lesion, satellite adenopathy, and an erythematous maculopapular rash.
(See also Overview of Rickettsial and Related Infections.)
Spotted fever rickettsioses include North Asian tick-borne rickettsiosis, Queensland tick typhus, African tick typhus (African tick bite fever), Mediterranean spotted fever (boutonneuse fever), and Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis (transmitted by the Gulf Coast tick [Amblyomma maculatum]—see Table: Diseases Caused by Rickettsia, Orientia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Coxiella Species). The causative agents belong to the spotted fever group of rickettsiae.
The epidemiology of these tick-borne rickettsioses resembles that of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in the Western Hemisphere. Ixodid ticks and wild animals maintain the rickettsiae in nature. If humans intrude accidentally into the cycle, they become infected. In certain areas, the cycle of boutonneuse fever involves domiciliary environments, with the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, as the dominant vector.