Antibodies to Rickettsia rickettsii , Rickettsia typhi , Coxiella burnetii , Bartonella henselae , Bartonella quintana , and Ehrlichia chaffeensis among healthy population in Minas Gerais, Brazil

• Published in: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Vol. 100; no. 8
• Main Authors: Paulo Sérgio Gonçalves da Costa, Marcos Emilio Brigatte, Dirceu Bartolomeu Greco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz 23-01-2006
• Subjects: Bartonella - Rickettsia - Coxiella - Ehrlichia - seroprevalence - Brazil
• ISSN: 1678-8060

Rickettsial diseases except those belonging to spotted fever group
rickettsioses are poorly studied in South America particularly in
Brazil where few epidemiological reports have been published. We
describe a serosurvey for Rickettsia rickettsii , R. typhi, Coxiella
burnetii , Bartonella henselae , B. quintana, and Ehrlichia
chaffeensis in 437 healthy people from a Brazilian rural community.
The serum samples were tested by indirected micro-im-munoflourescence
technique and a cutoff titer of 1:64 was used. The seroprevalence rates
for R. rickettsii, R. typhi, C. burnetii, B. henselae, B. quintana,
and E. chaffeensis were respectively 1.6% (7 samples); 1.1% (5
samples); 3.9% (17 samples); 13.7% (60 samples); 12.8% (56 samples),
and 10.5% (46 samples). Frequent multiple/cross-reactivity was observed
in this study. Age over 40 years old, urban profession, and rural
residence were significantly associated with some but not all
infections rate. Low seropositivity rates for R. rickettsii, R. typhi,
and C. burnetii contrasted with higher rates of seropositivity for B.
quintana, B. henselae, and E. chaffeensis. These results show that all
tested rickettsial species or antigenically closely related possible
exist in this particular region.