Serological evidence of Rickettsia parkeri as the etiological agent of rickettsiosis in Uruguay

Abstract

SUMMARYWe report three new rickettsiosis human cases in Uruguay. The three clinical cases presented clinical manifestations similar to previous reported cases of Rickettsia parkeri in the United States; that is mild fever (< 40 o C), malaise, headache, rash, inoculation eschar at the tick bite site, regional lymphadenopathy, and no lethality. Serological antibody-absorption tests with purified antigens of R. parkeri and Rickettsia rickettsii, associated with immunofluorescence assay indicated that the patients in two cases were infected by R. parkeri. Epidemiological and clinical evidences, coupled with our serological analysis, suggest that R. parkeri is the etiological agent of human cases of spotted fever in Uruguay, a disease that has been recognized in that country as cutaneous-ganglionar rickettsiosis.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing endemic and exotic wild mammals in the Esteros del Iberá wetlands, Argentina

“…Amblyomma triste has been found infected by Rickettsia parkeri in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay (Venzal et al 2004;Silveira et al 2007;Nava et al 2008), where cases of human disease attributed to this rickettsia have been diagnosed (Conti-Díaz et al 2009;Moraes-Filho et al 2009;Romer et al 2011). In our study, adults of A. triste were found on B. dichotomus, H. hydrochaeris and S. scrofa.…”

Update on Tick-Borne Rickettsioses around the World: a Geographic Approach

“…Finally, in 2011, Romer et al reported the first human cases of spotted fever caused by R. parkeri in Argentina, which were characterized by fever, rash, inoculation eschar, lymphadenopathy, and no deaths, similar to the clinical illness caused by R. parkeri in the United States (68,171). Similar clinical manifestations, also associated with A. triste, have been reported since the 1990s in Uruguay, where at least two of these cases were attributed to R. parkeri through cross-absorption (CA) serologic tests (172).…”

Diagnosis and Management of Tickborne Rickettsial Diseases: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Other Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses, Ehrlichioses, and Anaplasmosis — United States

“…For example, R. rickettsii infection can be acquired in Canada and Mexico, as well as in Central America and South America, where cases are reported from Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina (253)(254)(255)(256)(257)(258)(259)(260). R. parkeri infections have been described in Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina (38,253,261,262). Human anaplasmosis has been reported from several countries throughout Europe (263), as well as from several Asian countries, including China, Korea, Russia, and Japan (264)(265)(266)(267).…”