ABSTRACT
Rickettsia parkeri, a recently identified cause of spotted fever rickettsiosis in the United States, has been found in Amblyomma triste ticks in several countries of South America, including Argentina, where it is believed to cause disease in humans. We describe the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of 2 patients in Argentina with confirmed R. parkeri infection and 7 additional patients with suspected R. parkeri rickettsiosis identified at 1 hospital during 2004-2009. The frequency and character of clinical signs and symptoms among these 9 patients closely resembled those described for patients in the United States (presence of an inoculation eschar, maculopapular rash often associated with pustules or vesicles, infrequent gastrointestinal manifestations, and relatively benign clinical course). Many R. parkeri infections in South America are likely to be misdiagnosed as other infectious diseases, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, dengue, or leptospirosis.
Subject(s)
Bites and Stings , Doxycycline/administration & dosage , Rickettsia Infections/diagnosis , Tick-Borne Diseases/diagnosis , Ticks/microbiology , Adult , Aged , Animals , Antibodies, Bacterial/analysis , Antibodies, Bacterial/immunology , Argentina/epidemiology , DNA Fingerprinting , Dengue/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Doxycycline/therapeutic use , Exanthema , Female , Fever , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Leptospirosis/diagnosis , Male , Middle Aged , Rickettsia/drug effects , Rickettsia/physiology , Rickettsia Infections/drug therapy , Rickettsia Infections/epidemiology , Rickettsia Infections/microbiology , Rickettsia Infections/pathology , Rickettsia Infections/transmission , Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever/diagnosis , Tick-Borne Diseases/drug therapy , Tick-Borne Diseases/epidemiology , Tick-Borne Diseases/microbiology , Tick-Borne Diseases/pathology , Tick-Borne Diseases/transmission , United StatesABSTRACT
Aspidodera sogandaresi n. sp. (Heterakoidea: Aspidoderidae) from Dasypus novemcinctus Linnaeus, 1758 is herein described. This nematode occurs in armadillos from as far south as the canal zone of Panama, north through central Mexico, and into the southern United States. Previously identified as Aspidodera fasciata (Schneider, 1866), this new species has blunt projections on the lips and lateral expansions at the distal tips of the spicules, whereas A. fasciata has conspicuous digitiform projections on the lips, and a terminal round expansion at the tips of the spicules. Other species of the family present in North America include Aspidodera binansata Railliet and Henry, 1913; Aspidodera vazi Proença, 1937; and Lauroia trinidadensis Cameron, 1939.