Abstract
Rickettsia rickettsii is the etiological agent that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is the most lethal spotted fever rickettsiosis that affects humans. R. rickettsii is an obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacteria, aerobic, which survive within cytoplasm and/or nucleus of the host cell. The main tick species that transmits R. rickettsii in São Paulo's metropolitan area is Amb…