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Rickettsia is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci (0.1 μm in diameter), bacilli (1–4 μm long), or threads (up to about 10 μm long).
Some well-known rickettsial diseases include: Rickettsialpox - caused by Rickettsia akari, this disease is transmitted by mite bites and is generally milder than other rickettsial infections. Rocky Mountain spotted fever - caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, this disease is transmitted by tick bites and is prevalent in the Americas.
Rickettsia rickettsii is a Gram-negative, intracellular, cocco-bacillus bacterium that was first discovered in 1902. [1] Having a reduced genome, the bacterium harvests nutrients from its host cell to carry out respiration, making it an organo-heterotroph.
Rickettsia rickettsii can be transmitted to human hosts through the bite of an infected tick. As with other bacterium transmitted via ticks, the process generally requires a period of attachment of 4 to 6 hours. However, in some cases a Rickettsia rickettsii infection has been contracted by contact with tick tissues or fluids. [19]
Rickettsialpox is a mite-borne infectious illness caused by bacteria of the genus Rickettsia (Rickettsia akari). [1] Physician Robert Huebner and self-trained entomologist Charles Pomerantz played major roles in identifying the cause of the disease after an outbreak in 1946 in a New York City apartment complex, documented in "The Alerting of Mr. Pomerantz," an article by medical writer Berton ...
No rapid laboratory tests are available to diagnose rickettsial diseases early in the course of illness, and serologic assays usually take 10–12 days to become positive. Research is indicating that swabs of eschars may be used for molecular detection of rickettsial infections. [6] [7]
Rickettsia typhi is a small, gram-negative intracellular bacterium that establishes the murine typhus infection in mammals and fleas. [30] Murine typhus was once one of the most prevalent rickettsial diseases in the world, [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] having isolated the R. typhi causative agent from nearly every continent around the globe except for ...
The genus Rickettsia is the most prominent genus within the family. The bacteria that eventually formed the mitochondrion (an organelle in eukaryotic cells) is believed to have originated from this family. Most human pathogens in this family are in genus Rickettsia.