Copyright © 2010 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Rickettsia massiliae is a spotted fever group Rickettsia broadly distributed around the world and is associated with Rhipicephalus ticks. 1 – 4 Its pathogenic role was suspected because its seroprevalence in humans was observed, and some authors reported that this Rickettsia could be the causative agent of some cases of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF). 5 To date, only two human cases of R. massiliae infection in Europe have been documented and confirmed with molecular methods. The first case was detected in a blood sample from a patient diagnosed with MSF in Italy; the blood sample had been stored for 20 years before the case was detected. 6 The second case was in a patient with spotted fever and acute loss of vision in southern France.