Jpn. J. Infect. Dis., 57, 107-109, 2004

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Short Communication

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae from Ticks Captured in Sudan

Chiharu Morita, Abdel Rahim Mohamed El Hussein¹, Etsurou Matsuda, Khalil Mohamed Ali Abdel Gabbar², Yasukazu Muramatsu, Magdi Badawi Abdel Rahman¹, Ali Mohamed Hassan Eleragi¹, Shawgi Mohamed Hassan³, Agnes Mumbi Chitambo⁴ and Hiroshi Ueno*

School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu 069-8501, Japan,¹Central Veterinary Research Laboratories, ²Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bahr El Gazal, ³Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan and ⁴Information and Learning Resource Centre, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

(Received November 27, 2003. Accepted March 8, 2004)

*Corresponding author: Mailing address: School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu 069-8501, Hokkaido, Japan. Tel: +81-11-388-4740, Fax: +81-11-388-4790, E-mail: h-ueno@rakuno.ac.jp

SUMMARY: Ticks were collected from ruminants in various areas of Sudan in 1998 and 2000. Primer pairs of rickettsial citrate synthase gene (gltA) and a spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial 190-kDa surface antigen gene (rompA), respectively, were used for identification. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive products were used for DNA sequencing. The gltA gene was detected in 55% of the ticks examined (57/104). Among the 57 ticks studied, 19 were positive for the rompA gene. Thus, 18% of the ticks examined were found to be infected with SFG rickettsiae. 　The nucleotide sequences of the amplified rompA gene fragment of Hyalomma spp. and Amblyomma spp. were similar to those of Rickettsia aeschlimannii and Rickettsia africae, respectively. In this study, we succeeded in detecting the SFG rickettsiae gene in ticks, and established that there were at least two species of SFG rickettsiae in field ticks in Sudan.

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