Rickettsia: The Disease Causing Bacteria (Part-2)

Khaleda Akter Shompa Microbes 2 Comments 1,930 Views

Rickettsias are mainly known for their disease-causing capability. These micro-organisms can cause a great variety of diseases in different flora and fauna; especially in human.

Rickettsiosis is a disease caused by intracellular bacteria. It’s a type of infectious disease. Rickettsiosis can be divided mainly in two groups:

Spotted fever group &
Typhus group

Read part one of this article here.

Image result for how rickettsia rickettsii attacks and spreads — Figure: Transmition of Rocky Mountain spotted fever by the bite of an infected tick

Types Of Rickettsial Diseases

Typhus Group

Diseases	Rickettsial agent	Insect vectors	Mammalian reservoirs
1. Epidemic typhus	Rickettsia prowazekii	Louse	Humans
2. Murine typhus	Rickettsia typhi	Flea	Rodents
3. Scrub typhus	Orientia tsutsugamushi	Mite	Rodents

Spotted Fever Group

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Diseases	Rickettsial agent	Insect vectors	Mammalian reservoirs
1. Indian tick typhus	R. conorii	Tick	Rodents, dogs
2. Rocky mountain spotted fever	R. rickettsii	Tick	Rodents, dogs
3. Rickettsial pox	R. akari	Mite	Mice

Others

Diseases	Rickettsial agent	Insect vectors	Mammalian reservoirs
1. Q fever	Coxiella brunetti	Nil	Cattle, sheep, goats
2. Trench fever	Rochalimaea quintana	Louse	Humans

Figure: Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Floral Pathogenesis

Plant diseases have been associated with these Rickettsia-like organisms (RLOs):

Beet latent rosette RLO
Cover leaf RLO
Grapevine infectious necrosis RLO
Grapevine Pierce’s RLO
Grapevine yellows RLO
Peach phony RLO

Figure: A leaf of peach tree affected by “Phony Peach Disease”

Prevention

It’s better to be careful about our health, lifestyle etc. to prevent diseases than to get affected because of our negligence and then cure it. So, here are some tips that might be followed to prevent rickettsiosis to some extent:

Proper clothing while travelling to tick-infested areas.
Keeping ticks out.
Applying repellents (such as Permetrin).
Self checking as well as checking children & pets after returning from tick-infested area.