First Isolation and Identification of Rickettsia conorii from Ticks Collected in the Region of Fokida in Central Greece

Three different spotted-fever group rickettsiae— Rickettsia conorii , R. massiliae , and R. rhipicephali —were detected and identified by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in Rhipicephalus ticks collected from domestic animals in the Fokida region of Greece, where a high seroprevalence of antibodies to R. conorii was previously demonstrated. The infection rate of ticks was 1.6%. Moreover, R. conorii was isolated from one Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick.