Rickettsia conorii Malish and Israeli spotted fever strains causing disease in Portuguese Dogs

Abstract

Mediterranean spotted fever has the highest incidence in Portugak compared with opther endemic countries. However, few studies have been performed to understand the disease in the dogs, one of the most important host of Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks, vector of Rickettsia conorii strains. Our main objective was to identify R. conorii as a cause of disease in dogs with clinical suspiction of tick-borne disease.