"Candidatus Rickettsia kellyi," India

Abstract

We report the first laboratory-confirmed human infection due to a new rickettsial genotype in India, "Candidatus Rickettsia kellyi," in a 1-year-old boy with fever and maculopapular rash. The diagnosis was made by serologic testing, polymerase chain reaction detection, and immunohistochemical testing of the organism from a skin biopsy specimen.

Possible Case of Novel Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis in Traveler Returning to Japan from India

“…: 16S rRNA, LC089861; 17K-Da , LC089862; geneD , LC089863; gltA , LC089864), we performed whole-genome analysis. The partial sequence of ompA from our PCR products was 100% similar to the CMCMICRO ompA sequence ( 5 ) and 98.4% similar to the Candidatus R. kellyi ompA sequence ( 6 ). Other genes with high sequence homology were as follows: gltA with uncultured Rickettsia sp.…”

“…Moreover, data on other genes, such as 17KDa , gltA , and gene D , are lacking ( 5 ). Little sequence homology was observed between the ompA sequence in our case and that of Candidatus R. kellyi ( 6 ), which is considered to be the most closely related to Rickettsia sp. CMCMICRO, according to Fournier’s criteria ( 14 ).…”

Molecular detection and analysis of spotted fever groupRickettsiain patients with fever and rash at a tertiary care centre in Tamil Nadu, India

“…This is the first prospective study in which PCR has been performed on a group of patients clinically suspected to have spotted fever at a tertiary care centre in India. Various reports in the recent past point to the occurrence of spotted fever rickettsiosis in India, 1,2,[14][15][16] suggesting that this disease needs to be considered among the differential diagnosis in all patients presenting with fever and rash.…”

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

“…"Candidatus Rickettsia kellyi" is phylogenetically very distant from all known species to date. No isolates exist; however, the ompA gene of this rickettsia was sequenced from the skin biopsy specimen of a 1-year-old child with clinical signs of spotted fever in India (434). Several closely related sequences (GenBank accession numbers HM587248 to HM587251) without a supporting published manuscript were recently deposited in GenBank; they were also amplified from skin biopsy samples of Indian patients.…”