Biomaterial Database

Rickettsia honei: a spotted fever group Rickettsia on three continents. 2003

Stephen Graves, and John Stenos

Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Douglas Hocking Research Institute, Geelong Hospital, Geelong, Victoria, 3220, Australia. stepheng@barwonhealth.org.au

Rickettsia honei (also known as strain TT-118) has been detected on three continents. Originally isolated in Thailand in 1962 (and confirmed in 2001), it has also been detected on Flinders Island (Australia) in 1993 and in Texas (USA) in 1998. On each continent it has been associated with a different species of tick. The original isolate (Thai Tick Typhus strain TT-118) was from a pool of larval Ixodes and Rhipicephalus ticks. Later it was detected in I. granulatus from Rattus rattus. Its pathogenicity for humans has not yet been confirmed in Thailand, but it is possibly responsible for the Spotted Fever Group human rickettsiosis in Thailand. The strain from Texas (USA) was isolated from Amblyomma cajennense ticks taken from cattle. Its pathogenicity for humans has not yet been confirmed in Texas. However, this tick is known to bite humans. The strain from Flinders Island (Australia) described as R. honei, has been isolated from patients with "Flinders Island Spotted Fever" and from Aponomma hydrosauri ticks taken from blue-tongue lizards (Tiliqua nigrolutea), tiger snakes (Notechis ater humphreysi), and copperhead snakes (Austrelaps superbus) on Flinders Island. The ecology of R. honei in this location is unusual in that reptiles, rather than mammals, are the vertebrate hosts.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001315	Australia	The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.	Canton and Enderbury Islands,Christmas Island,Christmas Island (Australia)
D012281	Rickettsia	A genus of gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria often surrounded by a protein microcapsular layer and slime layer. The natural cycle of its organisms generally involves a vertebrate and an invertebrate host. Species of the genus are the etiological agents of human diseases, such as typhus.
D012282	Rickettsia Infections	Infections by the genus RICKETTSIA.	Infections, Rickettsia,Rickettsial Diseases,Rickettsiosis,Infection, Rickettsia,Rickettsia Infection,Rickettsial Disease,Rickettsioses
D013781	Texas	State bounded on the north by Oklahoma, on the east by Arkansas and Louisiana, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by New Mexico.
D013785	Thailand	Formerly known as Siam, this is a Southeast Asian nation at the center of the Indochina peninsula. Bangkok is the capital city.	Kingdom of Thailand,Siam
D051381	Rats	The common name for the genus Rattus.	Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus