Rickettsia bellii infecting Amblyomma sabanerae ticks in El Salvador

Abstract

Four Amblyomma sabanerae ticks collected from a turtle (Kinosternon sp.) in San Miguel, El Salvador, were found by molecular analysis to be infected by Rickettsia bellii. We provide the first report of Rickettsia bellii in Central America, and the first report of a Rickettsia species in El Salvador.

Keywords:

• Rickettsia bellii
• Amblyomma sabanerae
• El Salvador
• Central America

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). Parts if this work has been facilitated through the ‘Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencias y Tecnologia para el Desarrollo’ (CYTED) to ‘Red Iberoamerivana para la Investigacion y Control de las Enfermedades Rickettsiales’ (RIICER).