Rickettsioses studies. 3. Natural foci of rickettsioses in south Bohemia

Antibodies against Coxiella burnetii and against rickettsiae of the spotted fever group were found in human sera and in sera from domestic and wild animals collected in south Bohemia. Spotted fever group rickettsiae were also discovered in the tick Ixodes ricinus. These results indicate the presence of both types of rickettsiae in this part of Czechoslovakia. As no epizootics or epidemics of Q fever have as yet been reported in the area, it can be assumed that C. burnetii occurs in the latent state. The occurrence of spotted fever group rickettsiae is probably endemic among I. ricinus ticks and among small and larger wild mammals.