RESEARCH Cultivation of Rickettsia am

alphaproteobacterium in the spotted fever group (SFG) of organisms. This organism has been identified in many A. americanum by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [3] and was detected in 66.5 % to 80.5 % of A. ameri-Sayler et al. Parasites & Vectors 2014, 7:270 http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/7/1/270spotted fever (RMSF) is most notably caused by RickettsiaVeterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the articlespecies of Amblyomma ticks including Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum and Amnlyomma cajennense. The preferred tick host in the United States appears to be the lone star tick (LST), A. americanum, and has been identified in 41.2 % [1] to 64.5 % [2] of host-seeking A. americanum collected from diverse geographic regions canum pools that were directly parasitizing humans [4]. The pervasiveness of this bacterium in all life stages of the vector and in both host-seeking and par