Shigella flexneri with Ciprofloxacin Resistance and Reduced Azithromycin Susceptibility, Canada, 2015

ompA, and htrA); 11 of these ticks were from the patient’s dogs. In all properties where ticks were collected, at least 1 was PCR positive. Thus, we detected R. parkeri in half (4/8) of investigated households. All the sequences generated for the ompA and htrA genes showed 100% identity to sequences from the Rickettsia parkeri strain Portsmouth (GenBank accession no. CP003341.1). We deposited into GenBank the sequences of the ompA gene (KX196265) and htrA gene (KX196266) from samples analyzed in this study. The ompA sequence we obtained for R. parkeri showed 98% identity with Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic Rainforest (GenBank accession no. GQ855237.1). Although Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic Rainforest had previously been considered the only SFG Rickettsia in southern Brazil, we demonstrate here the presence of R. parkeri in Rio Grande do Sul in the Pampa biome. We detected R. parkeri infection in A. tigrinum ticks collected at the probable site of infection (the patient’s home) of a confirmed case of human spotted fever. Considering the A. tigrinum tick abundance in southern Brazil and its remarkable ability to parasitize domestic and wild animals (8), in addition to the high R. parkeri infection rate observed (28%), further epidemiologic studies are needed to address the role of A. tigrinum ticks as vector of spotted fever in the Pampa biome. Finally, our results show that, in addition to R. rickettsii and Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic Rainforest, R. parkeri occurs and might be associated with cases of spotted fever in Brazil. Additional surveys are needed to assess the infection prevalence of R. parkeri in A. tigrinum ticks in other areas of Pampa and in other regions of Brazil.