# Dermacentor occidentalis Ticks and Link to Rickettsia lanei Infections, California, USA

## TL;DR

This study identifies Dermacentor occidentalis ticks as a likely source of Rickettsia lanei infections in California, using genome sequencing techniques.

## Contribution

The study provides the first evidence linking Dermacentor occidentalis ticks to Rickettsia lanei infections in humans.

## Key findings

- Genome sequencing confirmed Dermacentor occidentalis ticks as the likely source of Rickettsia lanei infection in a human.
- Hybridization capture-based target enrichment enabled successful genome sequencing of Rickettsia lanei from ticks.

## Abstract

Rickettsia lanei is a newly recognized spotted fever group rickettsial species that causes severe Rocky Mountain spotted fever–like illness. We used genome sequencing, enabled by hybridization capture-based target enrichment, to establish Dermacentor occidentalis ticks as the likely source of a human infection with R. lanei in California, USA.