Molecular evidence of Rickettsia ricketssii and Rickettsia felis in ticks collected from cattle on the coast of Chiapas

Objetive. To identify the presence of Rickettsia ricketsii and R. felis and estimate the frequency of infection in ticks infesting cattle on the coast of Chiapas state. Materials and methods. Two samplings were carried, in October 2021 and in March 2022, which included the extraction of ticks from cattle belonging to five municipalities. Diagnosis of Rickettsia ricketsii and R. felis in ticks was performed by amplification of citrate synthase gene of Rickettsia genus, fragment sequencing and sequence comparison with global databases and we calculated the minimum infection rate (MIR). Results. Rhipicephalus microplus was infected with R. felis; Amblyomma cajennense, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus were positive for Rickettsia ricketsii and the highest minimum infection rate was 72.7 per 1 000 ticks Conclusion. This is the first study in Mexico that reports Rickettsia rickettsii and R. felis infection in ticks collected from cattle in the coast of Chiapas State, which indicates a public health risk to be considered in health programs.