Spotted fever group rickettsiae in hard ticks in eastern and southern Kazakhstan

Infections with spotted fever group rickettsiae represent a worldwide health problem, characterized by persistent high fever, headache, and rash in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. To date, the occurrence of Rickettsia species in hard ticks has not been thoroughly studied, especially in eastern and southern Kazakhstan. A total of 1,245 adult ticks, comprising 734 Dermacentor marginatus, 219 Hyalomma scupense, 144 Hyalomma asiaticum, 84 Hyalomma marginatum, 48 Rhipicephalus turanicus, and 16 Haemaphysalis erinacei, collected from East Kazakhstan, Abay, Jetsu, Almaty, Jambyl, South Kazakhstan and Qyzylorda oblasts of Kazakhstan, were used to screen rickettsial agents using molecular methods. Rickettsia raoultii, Rickettsia slovaca, Rickettsia aeschlimannii and Rickettsia heilongjiangensis were identified using sequencing, and 31.5% (392/1245) of ticks carried rickettsial agents. The difference in the natural landscapes explains the variety of the collected ticks and expands our knowledge of Rickettsia species and their geographical distribution in Kazakhstan. To the best of our knowledge, this study reports the first finding of R. heilongjiangensis in Kazakhstan.