Abstract

Human Rickettsiosis: An Epidemiological and Clinical Update

Rodrigo Siqueira-Batista, Jorge Luiz Dutra Gazineo, Andréia Patrícia Gomes, Paulo Sérgio Balbino Miguel, Luiz Alberto Santana and Mauro Geller

Bacteria of the genus Rickettsia, Orientia and Coxiella are major causes of human illness, producing the disease known as rickettsiosis, which can manifest clinically with different clinical signs and symptoms, depending on the species involved. In this article we will present the main clinical and epidemiological elements of human infection with Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia prowazekii, Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia akari, Orientia tsutsugamushi, and Coxiella burnetti, commenting also, with less emphasis, on the clinical aspects of other species of the genus Rickettsia.