Assessment of the Pathogenicity of Rickettsia amblyommatis, Rickettsia bellii, and Rickettsia montanensis in a Guinea Pig Model.

ABSTRACT: Members of the genus Rickettsia range from nonpathogenic endosymbionts to virulent pathogens such as Rickettsia rickettsii, the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Many rickettsiae are considered nonpathogenic because they have been isolated from ticks but not vertebrate hosts. We assessed the ability of three presumed endosymbionts: Rickettsia amblyommatis, Rickettsia bellii, and Rickettsia montanensis, to infect a guinea pig animal model. These species were chosen because of their high prevalence in respective tick vectors or published reports suggestive of human or animal pathogenicity. Following intraperitoneal (IP) inoculation of cell culture suspensions of R. rickettsii, R. amblyommatis, R. bellii, or R. montanen

SUBMITTER: Snellgrove AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8875296 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature