Diseases Caused by Rickettsia, Orientia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Coxiella Species
Disease | Organism | Rash or Eschar | Vector | Endemic Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Typhus | ||||
Rickettsia prowazekii | Trunk to extremities May be absent in Brill-Zinsser disease No eschar | Body lice | Worldwide | |
R. typhi, R. felis | Trunk to extremities No eschar | Rat flea, cat flea | Worldwide | |
Scrub typhus | ||||
Scrub typhus (tsutsugamushi disease) | Orientia tsutsugamushi (formerly R. tsutsugamushi) | Trunk to extremities Eschar present | Trombiculid mite larvae (chiggers) | Asia-Pacific area bounded by Japan, Korea, China, India, and northern Australia |
Spotted fever | ||||
R. rickettsii | Extremities to trunk No eschar | Ixodid (hard) ticks, including Dermacentor andersoni (wood tick), principally in the western United States, and D. variabilis (dog tick), principally in the eastern and southern United States | Western Hemisphere, including most of the United States (except Maine, Hawaii, and Alaska); Central and South America | |
R. sibirica | Trunk, extremities, face Multiple eschars present | Ixodid ticks | Central Asia, Siberia, Mongolia, China | |
Queensland tick typhus | R. australis | Trunk, extremities, face Eschar present | Ixodid ticks | Australia |
African tick typhus (African tick bite fever) | R. africae | Multiple eschars on extremities at the sites of the tick bites | Ixodid ticks | Sub-Saharan Africa, West Indies |
Mediterranean spotted fever (boutonneuse fever)* | R. conorii | Trunk, extremities, face Eschar present | Rhipicephalus sanguineus (brown dog tick) | Africa; India; southern Europe; the Middle East adjacent to the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas |
R. akari | Trunk, extremities, face Eschar present | Mites | United States, Russia, Korea, Africa | |
R. parkeri rickettsiosis | R. parkeri | Eschar present | Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) | Southern United States, South America |
Pacific Coast tick fever | R. philipii (364D) | Eschar present Mild disease | Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis) | California |
Monocytic ehrlichiosis | Ehrlichia chaffeensis | Uncommon but more common among children No eschar | Ticks (A. americanum, also known as the lone star tick) | Southeastern and south central United States |
Granulocytic anaplasmosis | Anaplasma phagocytophilum | None No eschar | Ticks (Ixodes scapularisin the eastern and Midwest United States, I. pacificus in the western United States, possibly I. ricinus in Europe) | In the United States, the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, upper Midwest, and West Coast; Europe |
Q Fever | ||||
Coxiella burnetii | Rare but more common among children No eschar | No vector needed | Worldwide | |
* Often known by the area in which it occurs (eg, Indian tick typhus, Marseilles fever). | ||||