Novel Rickettsia Species Infecting Dogs, United States

Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Dec;26(12):3011-3015. doi: 10.3201/eid2612.200272.

Abstract

In 2018 and 2019, spotted fever was suspected in 3 dogs in 3 US states. The dogs had fever and hematological abnormalities; blood samples were Rickettsia seroreactive. Identical Rickettsia DNA sequences were amplified from the samples. Multilocus phylogenetic analysis showed the dogs were infected with a novel Rickettsia species related to human Rickettsia pathogens.

Keywords: Rickettsia; Spotted-fever group Rickettsia; United States; bacteria; dogs; parasites; tickborne diseases; vector-borne diseases; zoonoses.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dog Diseases* / epidemiology
  • Dogs
  • Phylogeny
  • Rickettsia Infections* / epidemiology
  • Rickettsia Infections* / veterinary
  • Rickettsia* / genetics
  • United States / epidemiology