Evidence of rickettsial disease agents in ticks from Ethiopian cattle

Evidence has recently been accumulating that domestic animals may play an ancillary role in rickettsial zoonoses. In particular, attention has been focused on the activity of Rickettsia prowazekii in Egyptian and Ethiopian livestock and their ticks. An attempt has now been made to confirm previous findings of R. prowazekii in the sera of zebus, sheep and goats in Ethiopia, which brought epidemic typhus into the category of a zoonosis. This attempt was not successful, but tests did indicate that some ticks were infected with R. conori (boutonneuse fever or tick-borne typhus) and Coxiella burneti (Q fever), this being the first evidence for the existence of these agents in Ethiopia.Antibodies against R. conori were found in significant numbers in the sera of sheep and goats from one locality, but Q-fever antibodies were surprisingly rare.