AUTHOR=Chang Qiao-Cheng , Hu Yang , Wu Ting-Ting , Ma Xiao-Xiao , Jiang Bao-Gui , Jia Na , Wang An-Qi , Jiang Jia-Fu 

TITLE=The Role of Ranged Horses in Eco-Epidemiology of Rickettsia raoultii Infection in China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.795500

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.795500

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Rickettsia raoultii</italic> is a tick-borne pathogen that infects humans; however, the vertebrate hosts of this pathogen have not been clearly defined. Our molecular examination of <italic>Rickettsia</italic> spp. infecting mammals and ticks in China, identified the <italic>glt</italic>A, <italic>omp</italic>A, and 17KD gene sequences of <italic>R. raoultii</italic> in horses and their ticks. This indicates a role of horses in <italic>R. raoultii</italic> epidemiology.</p>