Rickettsioses studies. 1. Natural foci of rickettsioses in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Ixodid ticks collected in the Armenian SSR during 1971 and 1974 were positive for rickettsiae of the spotted fever group, as confirmed by haemocyte tests and by isolation experiments. Serum specimens collected from human beings and from domestic and wild animals in the same areas contained antibodies against such rickettsiae and against Coxiella burnetii. These results indicate the existence of mixed natural foci of rickettsioses of the spotted fever group and of Q fever in the Armenian SSR.