Spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks, Morocco
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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Extraction of Saliva, Haemolymph, Salivary Glands, and Midgut from Individual Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)
Published on: October 31, 2025
Mhammed Sarih1, Cristina Socolovschi, Najma Boudebouch
1Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco.
Abstract:
A total of 370 ticks, encompassing 7 species from 4 genera, were collected during 2002-2006 from domestic animals and vegetation in the Taza region of northeastern Morocco. Rickettsial DNA was identified in 101 ticks (27%) by sequencing PCR products of fragments of the citrate synthase and outer membrane protein genes of Rickettsia spp. Seven rickettsiae of the spotted fever group were identified, including 4 pathogens: R. aeschlimannii in Hyalomma marginatum marginatum, R. massiliae in Rhipicephalus sanguineus, R. slovaca in Dermacentor marginatus, and R. monacensis in Ixodes ricinus. Two suspected pathogens were also detected (R. raoultii in D. marginatus and R. helvetica in I. ricinus). An incompletely described Rickettsia sp. was detected in Haemaphysalis spp. ticks.
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