Detection of Rickettsia monacensis and Rickettsia amblyommatis in ticks collected from dogs in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

The neotropical climate of Central America provides ideal conditions for ticks, which may transmit several human pathogens, including spotted-fever group Rickettsia. Dogs may act as sentinels or reservoirs for human tick-borne diseases due to shared tick species. Here, ticks were collected from 680 client-owned dogs in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and a total of 316 tick pools were investigated for Rickettsia infection by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) targeting the gltA gene.