Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae in Ticks in Cyprus

In two surveys conducted from March 1999 to March 2001 and from January 2004 to December 2006, a total of 3,950 ticks (belonging to ten different species) were collected from seven domestic and wild animals (goat, sheep, cattle, dog, fox, hare, and mouflon) from different localities throughout Cyprus. In order to establish their infection rate with Spotted Fever Rickettsiae (SFG), ticks were pooled and tested by polymerase chain reaction targeting gltA and ompA genes, followed by sequencing analysis. When tick pools tested positive, individual ticks were then tested one by one, and of the 3,950 ticks screened, rickettsial DNA was identified in 315 ticks (infection rate, 8%). Five SFG Rickettsiae were identified: Rickettsia aeschlimannii in Hyalomma marginatum marginatum, Rickettsia massiliae in Rhipicephalus turanicus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rickettsia sibirica mongolotimonae in Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum, and a Rickettsia endosymbiont of Haemaphysalis sulcata (later described as Rickettsia hoogstraalii) in Haemaphysalis punctata. Two additional genes, 17 kDa and ompB, were targeted to characterize a new genotype of "Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae" genotype in R. turanicus, designated here as "Candidatus Rickettsia barbariae" Cretocypriensis. These results confirm the presence of a spectrum of SFG Rickettsiae on the island. Further studies are necessary to gain better knowledge on the epidemiology of SFG Rickettsiae in Cyprus.