Status on Rickettsia investigation in Xinjiang

Abstract

The disease caused by Rickettsia is an important zoonotic disease. Due to the complexity of the ecological environment of Xinjiang, the vectors, host and species of Rickettsia are complex and diverse; its natural foci are widely distributed, so they have brought great harm to local human health and livestock production. With global warming, rapid development of social economy and promotion of foreign economic and trade exchanges in Xinjiang, these may become potential factors for the diversity of Rickettsia vectors and hosts. In recent years, some rickettsial disease such as the onset of Q fever, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis, are increased at some areas of Xinjiang, thus, the Rickettsia and rickettsial diseases have been widely concerned. At present, a variety of new Rickettsia species have been detected and isolated from several areas of Xinjiang, and their public health significance have also been paid more and more attention. In this paper, we briefly summarized the research status about reported Rickettsia species identification, media host and popular distribution in the Xinjiang region over the past 20 years, to providing scientific basis for a systematic study and diagnosis, prevention and treatment of Rickettsia and rickettsial disease. Key words: Rickettsia; Rickettsial disease; Medium; Host