{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T06:28:44Z","timestamp":1788935324582,"version":"build-2803163510"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0010917","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,23]],"date-time":"2022-11-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1669161600000}}],"reference-count":54,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,11]],"date-time":"2022-11-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1668124800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004663","name":"Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MOST 110-2314-B-037-046; 111-2314-B-037-031"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOST 110-2314-B-037-046; 111-2314-B-037-031"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004663","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The <jats:italic>Rickettsia massiliae<\/jats:italic> was firstly detected and identified in <jats:italic>Rhipicephalus sanguineus<\/jats:italic> ticks infested on dogs in Taiwan. A total of 1154 <jats:italic>Rh<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>sanguineus<\/jats:italic> ticks collected from 158 dogs of four districts of Tainan city were examined for <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic> infection by nested-PCR assay targeting the citrate synthase (<jats:italic>gltA<\/jats:italic>) and outer membrane protein B (<jats:italic>ompB<\/jats:italic>) genes of <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic>. The <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic> infection was detected with a general infection rate of 2.77%, and was detected in male, female and nymphal stage with an infection rate of 2.77%, 3.22% and 1.32%, respectively. Phylogenetic relationships were analyzed by comparing the <jats:italic>gltA<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>ompB<\/jats:italic> sequences obtained from 9 Taiwan strains and 16 other strains representing 13 genospecies of <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic>. Results revealed that all Taiwan strains were genetically affiliated to the same clades of <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>massiliae<\/jats:italic> (spotted fever group) and <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>felis<\/jats:italic> (transitional group), and can be discriminated from other genospecies of <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic>. This study provides the first evidence of <jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>massiliae<\/jats:italic>, a pathogenic spotted fever <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic>, identified in <jats:italic>Rh<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>sanguineus<\/jats:italic> ticks and highlight the potential threat for the regional transmission of <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic> infection among humans in Taiwan.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0010917","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,11]],"date-time":"2022-11-11T18:30:25Z","timestamp":1668191425000},"page":"e0010917","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["First detection and molecular identification of Rickettsia massiliae, a human pathogen, in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks collected from Southern 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