rickettsia, (family Rickettsiaceae), family of bacteria, made up of two genera, Rickettsia and Orientia. The term rickettsia is sometimes also used to refer to organisms of the order Rickettsiales. The rickettsiae are rod-shaped or variably spherical, nonfilterable bacteria, and most species are gram-negative. They are natural parasites of certain arthropods (notably lice, fleas, mites, and ticks) and can cause serious diseases—usually characterized by acute self-limiting fevers—in humans and other animals.
The rickettsiae range in size from roughly 0.3 to 0.5 micrometre (μm) by 0.8 to 2.0 μm (1 μm = 10−6 metre). Virtually all rickettsiae can reproduce only within animal cells. Rickettsiae are usually transmitted to humans by a bite from an arthropod carrier. Because certain species can withstand considerable drying, transmission of rickettsia can also occur when arthropod feces are inhaled or enter the skin through abrasion. Most rickettsiae normally infect animals other than humans, who become involved as dead-end hosts only accidentally. Epidemic typhus and trench fever are exceptions, since humans are the only host of proven importance. The other rickettsial infections occur primarily in animals, which serve as reservoirs from which bloodsucking arthropods acquire the rickettsial bacteria and in turn transmit them to other animals and, occasionally, humans.
The largest rickettsial genus, Rickettsia, is generally subdivided into the typhus group, the spotted fever group, and the scrub typhus group. This genus alone is responsible for a number of highly virulent diseases, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, epidemic typhus, Brill-Zinsser disease (a type of epidemic typhus), scrub typhus, and others, as shown in the Table.
| rickettsia | arthropod vector | vertebrate host | human disease | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus Rickettsia | typhus group | R. prowazekii | body louse | humans | epidemic typhus, Brill-Zinsser disease |
| R. typhi (or mooseri) | rat flea | rats | murine typhus | ||
| spotted fever group | R. rickettsii | tick | rodents | Rocky Mountain spotted fever | |
| R. conorii | tick | dogs | boutonneuse fever | ||
| scrub typhus group | R. tsutsugamushi | chigger mite | rodents | scrub typhus | |
| Genus Coxiella | C. burnetii | usually airborne or contact | livestock, small mammals | Q fever | |
| Genus Rochalimaea | R. quintana | body louse | humans | trench fever | |
Protective measures against rickettsial disease agents include the control of arthropod carriers when necessary and immunization. Animals that recover from a rickettsial disease exhibit long-lasting immunity. Artificial immunity, as a preventive, is variably effective, typhus and the spotted fevers being among the easiest to immunize against. The most effective treatment of most rickettsial diseases includes the timely and prolonged administration of large amounts of broad-spectrum antibiotics, particularly doxycyclin or chloramphenicol.