Light Micrograph (LM) of a Gimenez-stained yolk sac smear revealed the presence of Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria. R. rickettsii is a gram-negative, intracellular, coccobacillus bacterium that is around 0.8 to 2.0 micrometres long and the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. R. rickettsii is one of the most pathogenic Rickettsia strains. It affects a large majority of the Western Hemisphere and small portions of the Eastern Hemisphere. The most common hosts for the R. rickettsii bacteria are ticks. Ticks that carry R. rickettsia fall into the family of Ixodidae ticks, also known as hard bodied ticks. Ticks are vectors, reservoirs and amplifiers of this disease. There are currently three known tick specifics that commonly carry R. rickettsii. American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguine). | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / CDC / Science Source |
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