Potential vectors and hosts of rickettsia spp: epidemiological studies in the Vale do Paraiba, state of Rio de Janeiro ⁄Brazil

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a rickettsiosis very similar to the Rocky Mountain spotted fever also caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, which is sustained in nature in a cycle involving vectors and mammals [1]. The state of Rio de Janeiro, with one of the highest population densities in Brazil, has one of the highest numbers of BSF cases. However, information about the epidemiology of this disease is lacking. The objectives of the present work were to analyse Rickettsia spp. in the host and vectors collected in municipalities of the Vale do Paraiba, where BSF fatal cases were recently recorded.