Genus Ricketstsia

Species R. ricketsii

Description - Causes Rocky Mountain Spotted fever - Serious and life threatening disease - Incubation period is 1-14 days after tick bites

Transmission Spread to humans by hard ticks that belong to the family Ixodidae -

Symptoms Fever, muscle pain, nausea maculopapular rash, petechial rash, abdominal pain, joint pain, diarrhea rash can occur at palm and sole of feet -

Treatments treatment must be initiated immediately without waiting for lab confirmation tetracycline doxyxyxline chlorampheicol -

Diagnosis serological test = to confirm diagnosis indirect immunoflouresc ence assays = to detect IgG and IgM in blood PCR and sequencing = detect DNA present in 5-10 rickettsiae in a sample. Better than serology as this is ricketsii specific immunostaining of skin biopsies obtained from skin rash

Genus Rickettsia

Species R. prowazeikii

Description Causes epidemic typhus Also called gaol fever, ship fever, famine fever etc. Incubation period is 2 weeks.

Orientia

O. tsutsugamushi

Causes scrub typhus Incubation period is 1-3 weeks

Transmission - Vector is the louse Pediculus humanus corporis. - The louse bites the infected human. Bacteria grows in the louses gut and is excreted in the faeces. The faeces gets rubbed Transmitted by chiggers found in scrub vegetation - Chiggers are previously fed on infected animals

Symptoms high fever headache cough rash (not on palm and sole of feet myalgia chill

Treatments -

Diagnosis

fever muscle pain cough gastrointestinal symptoms - eschar and mascular rash - More virulent strains can cause hemorrhaging and intravascular coagulation.

Genus Rickettsia

Species R. typhi

Description Causes endemic typhus

Transmission Transmitted by the rat flea

Coxiella

C. burnetii

Causes Q fever

- Ticks transmit disease to cattle, sheep and poultry - inhalation of the dust contaminated by rickettsia, ingestion of infected milk.

Symptoms Headache Chill Fever Myalgia Vomiting Cough No rash Involve all organs including liver and heart

Treatments -

Diagnosis

Rickettsia Non motile Non sporeforming Gram ve Pleomorphic (comes in many shapes) organisms Cocci or rod shaped Obligate intracellular bacteria Dangerous and difficult to handle in lab Zoonotic infections Carried by lice, tick, fleas

Diagnosis for all rickettsia All species can be grown in yolk sac of chick embryo. Animal inoculation-mice, guinea pigs. Animals are observed for 3-4 weeks. Temperature is recorded. Trying to isolate the organisms are dangerous and laboratory personnel have been known to become infected. Serology = CFTs are specific for different species of rickettsias. However infected patients also make antibodies to Proteus vulgaris as demonstrated in the Weil-Felix reaction. The Weil - Felix test = agglutination test where the patients sera is tested for antibodies to O antigens of certain strains such as Proteus vulgaris or Proteus mirabilis. False+s can occur and the test may be in 50% of cases.