{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T21:37:46Z","timestamp":1791841066703,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,1]],"date-time":"2024-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1725148800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia","award":["LR20IPT02"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["LR20IPT02"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A cross-sectional study was carried out, between April 2021 and June 2022, to understand the role of dogs in the circulation of rickettsiosis in Tunisia. The presence of specific IgG antibodies against Rickettsia conorii was analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence test. By qPCR, blood and ticks were collected from 136 dogs examined at the Canine Department of National School for Veterinary Medicine of Tunisia. These dogs were also analyzed to detect Rickettsia DNA. The rate of Rickettsia seropositivity in 136 dogs was 55.14%. A total of 51 (53%) seropositive dogs showed clinical and biological signs such as fever and anorexia as well as thrombocytopenia and anemia. By qPCR, targeting the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, no Rickettsia DNA was detected in the blood. On the other hand, qPCR followed by sequencing revealed the presence of R. conorii subsp. raoultii in 7 tick pools of the 51 pools composed of the 227 ticks collected. A One Health approach to raise the awareness of dog owners to control tick infestations is imperative, given the dangers of canine zoonoses.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci11090402","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,2]],"date-time":"2024-09-02T10:07:35Z","timestamp":1725271655000},"page":"402","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["First Evidence of Rickettsia conorii Infection in Dogs in Northern Tunisia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4956-7628","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zeyneb","family":"Gharbi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National School of Veterinary Medicine, Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet 2020, Tunisia"},{"name":"Laboratory of Viruses, Vectors and Hosts (LR20IPT02), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Universit\u00e9 Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9011-6108","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed","family":"Ouni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Viruses, Vectors and Hosts (LR20IPT02), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Universit\u00e9 Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghofrane","family":"Balti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Viruses, Vectors and Hosts (LR20IPT02), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Universit\u00e9 Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ali","family":"Bouattour","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Viruses, Vectors and Hosts (LR20IPT02), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Universit\u00e9 Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed","family":"Chabchoub","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National School of Veterinary Medicine, Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education, University of Manouba, Sidi Thabet 2020, Tunisia"},{"name":"Laboratory of Viruses, Vectors and Hosts (LR20IPT02), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Universit\u00e9 Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0048-4709","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Youmna","family":"M\u2019ghirbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Viruses, Vectors and Hosts (LR20IPT02), Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Universit\u00e9 Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"213","DOI":"10.1016\/j.idc.2018.10.010","article-title":"The Rickettsioses","volume":"33","author":"Blanton","year":"2019","journal-title":"Infect. Dis. Clin. N. Am."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-5877(03)00079-5","article-title":"Associations between dogs that were serologically positive for Rickettsia conorii relative to the residences of two human cases of Mediterranean spotted fever in Piemonte (Italy)","volume":"60","author":"Mannelli","year":"2003","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Socolovschi, C., Gaudart, J., Bitam, I., Huynh, T.P., Raoult, D., and Parola, P. (2012). Why Are There so Few Rickettsia conorii conorii-Infected Rhipicephalus sanguineus Ticks in the Wild?. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 6.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0001697"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"610","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2017.04.005","article-title":"A retrospective study of the characterization of Rickettsia species in ticks collected from humans","volume":"8","author":"Blanda","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ticks Tick-Borne Dis."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"492","article-title":"Une fi\u00e8vre \u00e9ruptive observ\u00e9e en Tunisie","volume":"8","author":"Conor","year":"1910","journal-title":"Bull. Soc. Pathol. Exot. Fil."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Znazen, A., Sellami, H., Elleuch, E., Hattab, Z., Ben Sassi, L., Khrouf, F., Dammak, H., Letaief, A., Ben Jemaa, M., and Hammami, A. (2015). Comparison of Two Quantitative Real Time PCR Assays for Rickettsia Detection in Patients from Tunisia. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 9.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0003487"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-0691.2008.02253.x","article-title":"First molecular detection of R. conorii subsp. conorii 99 years after the Conor description of Mediterranean spotted fever, in Tunisia","volume":"15","author":"Sfar","year":"2009","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.01925-13","article-title":"Detection of Rickettsia in Rhipicephalus sanguineus Ticks and Ctenocephalides felis Fleas from Southeastern Tunisia by Reverse Line Blot Assay","volume":"52","author":"Khrouf","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"367","DOI":"10.1186\/1756-3305-6-367","article-title":"Multispacer typing of Rickettsia isolates from humans and ticks in Tunisia revealing new genotypes","volume":"6","author":"Znazen","year":"2013","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"653","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2016.02.010","article-title":"Molecular diagnosis of Rickettsia infection in patients from Tunisia","volume":"7","author":"Khrouf","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ticks Tick-Borne Dis."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1749-6632.2009.04521.x","article-title":"Characterization of Rickettsial Diseases in a Hospital-Based Population in Central Tunisia","volume":"1166","author":"Kaabia","year":"2009","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Belkahia, H., Selmi, R., Zamiti, S., Daaloul-Jedidi, M., Messadi, L., and Ben Said, M. (2021). Zoonotic Rickettsia Species in Small Ruminant Ticks From Tunisia. Front. Vet. Sci., 8.","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2021.676896"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2012.10.003","article-title":"First detection of Rickettsia aeschlimannii in Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from Tunisia","volume":"3","author":"Demoncheaux","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ticks Tick-Borne Dis."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"733","DOI":"10.1111\/tbed.13392","article-title":"Molecular epidemiology and phylogeny of spotted fever group Rickettsia in camels (Camelus dromedarius) and their infesting ticks from Tunisia. Transbound","volume":"67","author":"Selmi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Emerg. Dis."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"561","DOI":"10.1179\/136485908X311795","article-title":"First report of Rickettsia monacensis and Rickettsia helvetica from Tunisia","volume":"102","author":"Sfar","year":"2008","journal-title":"Ann. Trop. Med. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106994","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2023.106994","article-title":"Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in Rhipicephalus species infesting domestic animals in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"246","author":"Mucheka","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"292","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-021-04772-9","article-title":"Seropositivity to canine tick-borne pathogens in a population of sick dogs in Italy","volume":"14","author":"Benelli","year":"2021","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3316","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.00379-10","article-title":"Diagnosis of Canine Vector-Borne Diseases in Young Dogs: A Longitudinal Study","volume":"48","author":"Otranto","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Clin. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1985","DOI":"10.3201\/eid1212.060326","article-title":"Febrile Illness Associated with Rickettsia conorii Infection in Dogs from Sicily","volume":"12","author":"Kidd","year":"2006","journal-title":"Emerg. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Guccione, C., Colomba, C., Tolomeo, M., Trizzino, M., Iaria, C., and Cascio, A. (2021). Rickettsiales in Italy. Pathogens, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10020181"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"216","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-015-0824-3","article-title":"Acute febrile illness is associated with Rickettsia spp. infection in dogs","volume":"8","author":"Pennisi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2011.03.001","article-title":"Detection of Rickettsia conorii strains in Portuguese dogs (Canis familiaris)","volume":"2","author":"Alexandre","year":"2011","journal-title":"Ticks Tick-Borne Dis."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1089\/vbz.2011.0684","article-title":"Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris) as Reservoir Hosts for Rickettsia conorii","volume":"12","author":"Levin","year":"2012","journal-title":"Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis."},{"key":"ref_24","first-page":"43","article-title":"Cl\u00e9 dichotomique et identification des tiques (Acari: Ixodidae) parasites du b\u00e9tail au Maghreb","volume":"79","author":"Bouattour","year":"2002","journal-title":"Arch. Inst. Pasteur. Tunis."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Estrada-Pe\u00f1a, A., Bouattour, A., Camicas, J.-L., and Walker, A.R. (2004). Ticks of Domestic Animals in the Mediterranean Region! A Guide to Identification of Species, University of Zaragoza."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"126","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1574-695X.2011.00899.x","article-title":"Widespread use of real-time PCR for rickettsial diagnosis: Figure 1","volume":"64","author":"Rolain","year":"2012","journal-title":"FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"252","DOI":"10.1099\/00207713-47-2-252","article-title":"Citrate Synthase Gene Comparison, a New Tool for Phylogenetic Analysis, and Its Application for the Rickettsiae","volume":"47","author":"Roux","year":"1997","journal-title":"Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"95","article-title":"BioEdit: A user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for Windows 95\/98\/NT","volume":"41","author":"Hall","year":"1999","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Symp. Ser."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4673","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/22.22.4673","article-title":"CLUSTAL W: Improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, position-specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice","volume":"22","author":"Thompson","year":"1994","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"ref_30","first-page":"145","article-title":"Dog tick borne diseases in Sicily","volume":"48","author":"Torina","year":"2006","journal-title":"Parassitologia"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Diakou, A., Di Cesare, A., Morelli, S., Colombo, M., Halos, L., Simonato, G., Tamvakis, A., Beugnet, F., Paoletti, B., and Traversa, D. (2019). Endoparasites and vector-borne pathogens in dogs from Greek islands: Pathogen distribution and zoonotic implications. Fuehrer HP, editor. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 13.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0007003"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"769","DOI":"10.2478\/s11686-019-00098-w","article-title":"Seroprevalences of Rickettsia conorii, Ehrlichia canis and Coxiella burnetii in Dogs from Montenegro","volume":"64","year":"2019","journal-title":"Acta Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lled\u00f3, L., and Gim\u00e9nez-Pardo, C. (2021). Preliminary Evidence of Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia conorii Infection in the Sera of Sheep, Dogs and Deer from an Area of Northern Spain. Pathogens, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10070836"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.2298\/VETGL1504219S","article-title":"Retrospective analysis of clinical and laboratory findings in hunting dogs with serologic reactions to tick-borne pathogens (Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia canis, Ehrlichia canis, Ricketsia conorii)","volume":"69","author":"Savic","year":"2015","journal-title":"Vet. Glas."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"697","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01720305","article-title":"Prevalence of antibodies to rickettsiae in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina","volume":"11","year":"1995","journal-title":"Eur. J. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Afonso, P., Lopes, A.P., Quintas, H., Cardoso, L., and Coelho, A.C. (2024). Ehrlichia canis and Rickettsia conorii Infections in Shelter Dogs: Seropositivity and Implications for Public Health. Pathogens, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens13020129"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fa-Ngoen, C., Kaewmongkol, G., Inthong, N., Tanganuchitcharnchai, A., Abdad, M.Y., Siengsanan-Lamont, J., Blacksell, S.D., and Kaewmongkol, S. (2024). Serological detection of Rickettsia spp. and evaluation of blood parameters in pet dogs and cats from Bangkok and neighboring provinces. PLoS ONE, 19.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0297373"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-021-04670-0","article-title":"Seroprevalence and associated risk factors for vector-borne pathogens in dogs from Egypt","volume":"14","author":"Selim","year":"2021","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2007.12.018","article-title":"Detection and molecular characterization of Babesia canis vogeli from naturally infected dogs and Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks in Tunisia","volume":"152","author":"Bouattour","year":"2008","journal-title":"Vet. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-0691.2008.02158.x","article-title":"The dog as an epidemiological marker of Rickettsia conorii infection","volume":"15","author":"Pons","year":"2009","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"271","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-017-2216-3","article-title":"Serological and molecular detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia in a group of pet dogs from Luanda, Angola","volume":"10","author":"Barradas","year":"2017","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"719","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.18.4.719-756.2005","article-title":"Tick-Borne Rickettsioses around the World: Emerging Diseases Challenging Old Concepts","volume":"18","author":"Parola","year":"2005","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"294","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetmic.2007.11.035","article-title":"Evaluation of conventional and real-time PCR assays for detection and differentiation of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in dog blood","volume":"129","author":"Kidd","year":"2008","journal-title":"Vet. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2015.00055","article-title":"Challenges Posed by Tick-Borne Rickettsiae: Eco-Epidemiology and Public Health Implications","volume":"3","author":"Eremeeva","year":"2015","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_45","first-page":"100952","article-title":"Survey on tick infestation in stray dogs in localities of Malaysia","volume":"47","author":"Yan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vet. Parasitol. Reg. Stud. Rep."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cimid.2016.01.002","article-title":"Molecular evidence of vector-borne pathogens in dogs and cats and their ectoparasites in Algiers, Algeria","volume":"45","author":"Bessas","year":"2016","journal-title":"Comp. Immunol. Microbiol. Infect. Dis."}],"container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-7381\/11\/9\/402\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T15:46:34Z","timestamp":1760111194000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-7381\/11\/9\/402"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,1]]},"references-count":46,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9]]}},"alternative-id":["vetsci11090402"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/vetsci11090402","relation":{},"ISSN":["2306-7381"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2306-7381","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,1]]}}}