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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 69(3), 2003, pp. 314-317
Copyright © 2003 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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APONOMMA HYDROSAURI, THE REPTILE-ASSOCIATED TICK RESERVOIR OF RICKETTSIA HONEI ON FLINDERS ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

JOHN STENOS, STEPHEN GRAVES, VSEVOLOD L. POPOV, AND DAVID H. WALKER
Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, The Geelong Hospital, Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas

Rickettsia honei is the etiologic agent of Flinders Island (Australia) spotted fever. The tick Aponomma hydrosauri is associated with reptiles and is the arthropod reservoir for this rickettsia on Flinders Island. The rickettsia appears to be maintained in the tick via vertical transmission. Of 46 ticks examined, 29 (63%) were positive for spotted fever group rickettsiae by detection of the citrate synthase gene by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). From the positive tick samples, seven were sequenced and found to be 100% homologous with R. honei. Of 17 reptiles examined, none had evidence of rickettsiae by PCR or culture of blood.

Received April 4, 2003. Accepted for publication July 1, 2003.

Acknowledgments: We thank Linde Stewart and Violet Han for expert assistance in rickettsial isolation and electron microscopy, respectively, herpetologists Simon Watharow and Angela Reid for their expertise in reptile trapping, and entomologists Ian Beveridge and Owen Seeman for their help with identification of the ticks, We also thank Robert and Anna Stewart, Tina Stenos, Moira Graves, and John Sanchez for their valuable contribution to the Flinders Island field trip.

Financial support: This project was supported in part by the 1999 Australian Society for Microbiology Research Trust Fellowship awarded to John Stenos.

Authors’ addresses: John Stenos and Stephen Graves, Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, The Geelong Hospital, PO Box 281, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, Fax: 61-3-5260-3183, E-mail: JOHNS{at}BarwonHealth.org.au. Vsevolod L. Popov and David H. Walker, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, 1.116 Keiller Building, Galveston, TX 77555-0609.






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Copyright © 2003 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.