Rickettsia rickettsii isolation from naturally infected Amblyomma parvum ticks by centrifugation in a 24-well culture plate technique

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is an acute illness caused by Rickettsia rickettsii (R. rickettsii) and is transmitted by the bite of ticks of the genera Dermacentor, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus. The illness results in a high mortality rate and may be easily confused with other febrile syndromes. In Yucatan State, Mexico, childhood cases with a high mortality have been reported. In this work we report the isolation of a Mexican R. rickettsii strain from a tick egg mass using an alternative method for Rickettsia isolation with 24-well plates. We also identified a potential vector of R. rickettsii in the southeast of Mexico, which is Amblyomma parvum.