Experimental infection of cotton rats and bobwhite quail with Rickettsia parkeri.

BACKGROUND: Amblyomma maculatum is the primary vector for Rickettsia parkeri, a spotted fever group rickettsia (SFGR) and human pathogen. Cotton rats and quail are known hosts for larval and nymphal A. maculatum; however, the role of these hosts in the ecology of R. parkeri is unknown. METHODS: Cotton rats and quail were inoculated with low or high doses of R. parkeri (strain Portsmouth) grown in Vero cells to evaluate infection by R. parkeri in these two hosts species. Animals were euthanized 2, 4, 7, 10, and 14 days post-injection (dpi) and blood, skin, and spleen samples were collected to analyze by Vero cell culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In a second trial, cotton rats and quail were inoculated with R. parkeri and nymphal A. maculatum ticks were allowed to feed on animals. Animals were euthanized on 14, 20, 28, 31, and 38 dpi and blood and tissues were collected for serology and PCR assays. Fed ticks were tested for R. parkeri by PCR and Vero cell culture. RESULTS: Rickettsia parkeri was isolated in cell culture and detected by PCR in skin, blood, and spleen tissues of cotton rats in the initial trial 2, 4, and 7 dpi, but not in quail tissues. In the second trial, no ticks tested positive for R. parkeri by PCR or cell culture. CONCLUSIONS: These studies demonstrate that viable R. parkeri rickettsiae can persist in the tissues of cotton rats for at least 7 days following subcutaneous inoculation of these bacteria; however, quail are apparently resistant to infection. Rickettsia parkeri was not detected in nymphal ticks that fed on R. parkeri-inoculated cotton rats or quail, suggesting an alternate route of transmission to naïve ticks.

Evidence of antibodies to spotted fever group rickettsiae in small mammals and quail from Mississippi.

Rickettsia parkeri is a recently recognized human pathogen primarily associated with the Gulf Coast tick Amblyomma maculatum, with immature stages of this tick reported from wild vertebrates. To better understand the role of vertebrates in the natural history of this bacterium, we evaluated small mammals and ground-dwelling birds for evidence of infection with R. parkeri or exposure to the organism. We sampled small mammals (n=39) and passerines (n=47) in both north-central and southeast Mississippi, while northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) samples (n=31) were obtained from farms in central Mississippi. Blood from all sampled animals was tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR), and for antibodies to SFGR using R. parkeri antigen. Ectoparasite samples were removed from animals and included mites, lice, fleas, and immature ticks. Of 39 small mammal samples collected, 7 were positive for antibodies to SFGR; none tested positive by PCR for DNA of SFGR. Of 47 passerine blood samples collected, none were positive for DNA of SFGR by PCR, nor did any show serological evidence of exposure. Finally, none of 31 northern bobwhite samples tested were positive for SFGR DNA, while 7 were seropositive for rickettsial antibodies. Detection of seropositive rodents and quail suggests a role for these host species in the natural history of SFGR, possibly including R. parkeri, but the extent of their role has not yet been elucidated.