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The Prokaryotes pp 429–446Cite as

Rickettsiia Diseases

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Abstract

The genus Rickettsia includes lethal pathogens such as R. rickettsii, the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and R. prowazekii, the etiologic agent of epidemic typhus. All the members of this genus are obligately intracellular bacteria, and those that are pathogenic to humans preferentially target the vascular endothelium and are transmitted by arthropod vectors. The diseases they cause are systemic and difficult to diagnose because of initial nonspecific signs and symptoms, and the lack of appropriate diagnostic tests. These small bacteria have a gram-negative wall structure and have lost many genes that became unnecessary once they evolved to an intracellular lifestyle. Much remains to be learned about these fascinating intracellular parasites. Factors that have limited their investigation include the required biosafety level 3 to work with most of the pathogenic rickettsiae, the lack of tools for genetic manipulation, and their intracellular nature, which adds a layer of complexity for experimental work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, Center for Tropical Diseases, Institute for Translational Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, 77555-0609, TX, USA

    Gustavo Valbuena (Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology; Director, Masters in Medical Sciences Program; Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases)

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  1. Gustavo Valbuena
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Correspondence to Gustavo Valbuena .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eugene Rosenberg

  2. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Edward F. DeLong

  3. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Stephen Lory

  4. Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany

    Erko Stackebrandt

  5. Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Fabiano Thompson

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Valbuena, G. (2013). Rickettsiia Diseases. In: Rosenberg, E., DeLong, E.F., Lory, S., Stackebrandt, E., Thompson, F. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30144-5_107

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