Molecular surveillance of spotted fever group rickettsioses in wildlife and detection of Rickettsia sibirica in a Topi ( Damaliscus lunatus ssp . jimela ) in Kenya

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses are a group of tick-borne zoonotic diseases caused by over 20 species of the intracellular bacterium Rickettsia (Azad & Beard 1998; Parola, Paddock & Raoult 2005; Raoult & Roux 1997; Todar 2012). They occur worldwide and are associated with diseases in animals and humans (Azad & Beard 1998; Parola et al. 2005) and are diagnosed in some international travellers returning from sub-Saharan Africa (Freedman et al. 2006; Jensenius, Parola & Raoult 2006) including Kenya (Rutherford et al. 2004; Yoshikawa et al. 2005). The clinical manifestations in humans are non-specific and mimic those of other diseases such as malaria and flu-like illnesses (Krauss et al. 2003; Roch et al. 2008). They are transmitted by different species of ixodidae ticks and reservoirs include various species of domestic and wild animals (Cowan 2003; Todar 2012). Because wild animals are hosts of many species of ticks, the diseases can be of particular concern where wildlife shares habitats and other resources with humans and domestic animals (Grootenhuis & Olubayo 1993).