Prevalence of Rickettsia species in the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO): an overview

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESRickettsia is a zoonotic bacterial pathogen which transmitted by vectors and has extensive reservoirs in animal and human populations. Rickettsiosis is a public health problem all over the world. However, comprehensive information on the geographical distribution of different Rickettsia species, contamination status of reservoirs, vectors, and human cases is lacking in most parts of the world. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution of different Rickettsia species and their vectors in countries of the WHO-EMRO region.MATERIALS AND METHODSIn this review study, a search was conducted for reports and published studies on Rickettsia species from WHO-EMRO region countries in various databases from ۱۹۹۵ to ۲۰۲۲. Finally, the reported status of human cases, reservoirs, and vectors associated with each species in different countries was documented.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONReports of contamination related to the detection of Rickettsia species were only available for ۱۵ out of ۲۲ WHO-EMRO member countries. In total, twenty-four different Rickettsia species, including R. sibrica, R. lusitaniae, R. africae, R. prowazekii, R. felis, R. typhi, R. rickettsii, R. aeschlimannii, R. conorii, R. massiliae, R. helvetica, R. monacensis, R. rhipicephali, R. bellii, R. asembonensis, R. hoogstraalii, R. andeanae, R. raoultii, R. asiatica, R. slovaca, R. australis, R. barbariae, Candidatus R. amblyommii, and Candidatus R. goldwasserii, were reported from WHO-EMRO member countries. Additionally, human cases which were infected with six different Rickettsia species including R. sibrica, R. prowazekii, R. felis, R. typhi, R. rickettsii, R. aeschlimannii, R. conorii, R. massiliae, and R. helvetica reported from these countries.CONCLUSIONAccording to the wide range of vectors and the abundance of Rickettsia species, the investigation of rickettsial infections in the WHO-EMRO region is important but has been neglected. Therefore, it should be taken seriously.

کلیدواژه ها:

Rickettsia ، Rickettsiosis ، WHO-EMRO ، Zoonosis ، Epidemiology