Abstract
Rickettsia rickettsii is the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. After the transmission through the bite of an infected tick, the bacterium infects the endothelial cells of the vertebrate host, where it proliferates, causing vasculitis, with a potentially fatal evolution. In Brazil, the main vector of R. rickettsii is Amblyomma sculptum [a species of the Amblyomma cajennense …