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Rickettsia akari (Rickettsialpox)
Rickettsialpox is a worldwide mite-borne rickettsiosis presenting as a febrile and vesicular eruption. It is caused by Rickettsia akari, associated with mice, and transmitted by its ectoparasite, the mite Liponyssoides sanguineus.
Etiology
Rickettsia akari is classified among spotted fever group rickettsiae based on antigenic and genetic data. Its genome has a size (1.23 Mb) similar to those of other Rickettsia species but its plasmid content varies, possibly according to the strain and/or culture passage, as described for other closely related species such as Rickettsia felis.
It differs from other Rickettsia species in that its target cell in humans is the macrophage and not the endothelial cell, and it is transmitted by the bite of Liponyssoides sanguineus, the mouse mite.
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