In Brazil, the spotted fever group (SFG)
Rickettsia rickettsii
and
Rickettsia parkeri
related species are the etiological
agents of spotted fever rickettsiosis. However, the SFG,
Rickettsia rhipicephali
, that infects humans, has
never been reported. The study of growth dynamics can be useful for understanding the infective and invasive capacity
of these pathogens. Here, the growth rates of the Brazilian isolates
R. rickettsii str. Taiaçu,
R. parkeri str. At#24,
and
R. rhipicephali HJ#5, were evaluated in Vero cells by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
R. rhipicephali
showed different kinetic growth compared to
R. rickettsii and
R. parkeri.