UNASSIGNED: Tick-borne spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses are emerging infectious diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Madagascar, the endemicity of @entity7545 and their vectors has been incompletely studied. The first part of the present study was conducted in 2011 and 2012 to identify potential anthropophilic tick vectors for SFG rickettsiae on @entity291 from seven Malagasy regions, and to detect and characterize rickettsiae in these ticks. Amblyomma variegatum was the only anthropophilic tick species found on 262 @entity291 . Using a novel ompB-specific qPCR, screening for rickettsial DNA was performed on 111 A. variegatum ticks. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 96 of 111 ticks studied (86.5%). @entity26357 africae was identified as the only infecting @entity26357 using phylogenetic analysis of ompA and ompB gene sequences and three variable intergenic spacers from 11 ticks. The second part of the study was a cross-sectional survey for antibodies against SFG rickettsiae in plasma samples taken from healthy, pregnant @entity1 at six locations in Madagascar, two at sea level and four between 450 and 1300m altitude. An indirect fluorescent antibody test with @entity7587 as surrogate SFG rickettsial antigen was used. We found @entity7587 -seropositives at all altitudes with prevalences between 0.5% and 3.1%. Our results suggest that A. variegatum ticks highly infected with @entity26357 are the most prevalent @entity291 -associated tick vectors for @entity221 in Madagascar. Transmission of @entity221 to @entity1 occurs at different altitudes in Madagascar and should be considered as a relevant cause of febrile diseases.

High detection rate of XXXX africae in Amblyomma variegatum but low prevalence of anti-rickettsial antibodies in healthy pregnant @entity1 in Madagascar.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'humans'] @entity221 :: ('MESH:D005334', 'Disease') :: ['SFG rickettsiosis'] @entity26357 :: ('35788', 'Species') :: ['Rickettsia', 'R. africae', 'rickettsia'] @entity291 :: ('9913', 'Species') :: ['cattle'] @entity7587 :: ('781', 'Species') :: ['Rickettsia conorii', 'R. conorii'] @entity7545 :: ('MESH:D017282', 'Disease') :: ['tick-borne rickettsiae']
@entity26357 :: (35788,Species) :: ['Rickettsia']
