Conclusion:
We have reported on the detection of tick-borne rickettsia pathogens
which are the etiologic agents of spotted fever group rickettsioses. We
assessed ticks collected from domestic animals and found the DNA ofR. africae, R. parkeri and R. tamurae in the three genera
of ticks collected in this study. The detection of genetic materials ofR. parkeri and R. tamurae in ticks collected in Africa
calls for further studies to elucidate this result. The discordance of
the omp A and omp B genes fragments of the same samples is
also another observation that should be studied further in detail. Full
genome sequencing or a complete omp A and omp B would have
helped to further resolve these controversies but insufficient resources
constrained us. Usually, the SFGR are not considered in the diagnosis
and treatment of patients with signs and symptoms of fever in these
rural communities. This data is therefore a wakeup call on health
personal in the study communities to consider infections caused by these
pathogens as they may probably be responsible for the flulike symptoms
presented by their patients. They should also educate the community
member on the health implications of ticks’ bites and the need to report
such bites as quickly as possible. Aggressive ticks control strategies
should be commenced by the relevant government agencies so as to
mitigate the health implications of ticks’ infestations. Further studies
are needed to demonstrate the competence of A. hebraeum as
regarding acquisition and transmission of R. parkeri as well as
changes in the endosymbionts in the tick species. The limitations of the
study are that tick genders and feeding states were not considered
however, these do not in any way diminish the relevance of the findings
of the study.