|
|
Article: Rickettsial Diseases
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
RICKETTSIAL DISEASES
The term "Rickettsial diseases" is loosely applied to a variety of infectious diseases caused by gramnegative fastidious bacteria belonging to the genera
Rickettsia, Orientia, Ehrlichia,
and
Coxiella
. This grouping is justified by historical aspects of the discovery of each microorganism, by similarities in their microbiological and ecological characteristics, and by their association with arthropod vectors (lice, fleas, ticks, and mites). Rickettsial diseases described in this section include both classical
Table 1
Rickettsial Diseases of Humans
|
| Disease
1
|
Organism
|
Invertebrate vector
|
Reservoir/Mammalian host
|
Typical mode of transmission to ...
|