Molecular detection of Rickettsia helvetica in lesion and blood samples after tick bites in Serbia: two cases with One Health implications
Abstract
A C TRickettsia helvetica is a spotted fever group rickettsia associated mainly with Ixodes ricinus and increasingly detected in European ticks. We describe two tick-bite-associated human cases in Serbia in May 2025. A 65-yearold woman (Case 1) developed pruritic erythematous lesions after two adult female I. ricinus attachments acquired in the Valjevo area. Rickettsia spp. DNA was detected in capillary blood from both lesions, and sequencing of the PCR amplicons identified R. helvetica, while whole blood was PCR-negative and serology did not show reproducible seroconversion. An 8-year-old girl (Case 2) developed a pruritic scalp papule/crust and occipital/ cervical lymphadenopathy after an adult female Haemaphysalis punctata attachment in Petrovaradin forest. Rickettsia spp. DNA was detected in lesion capillary blood and whole blood; sequencing identified both as R. helvetica. Clinical signs resolved after doxycycline. These observations support lesion-focused molecular testing and integrated human-tick-environment surveillance for underdiagnosed spotted fever group rickettsioses in Serbia.
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BibTeX
@article{banovic2026molecular,
title = {{Molecular detection of Rickettsia helvetica in lesion and blood samples after tick bites in Serbia: two cases with One Health implications}},
author = {Pavle Banović and Dragana Mijatović and Verica Simin and Ivana Bogdan and Dejan Jakimovski and Angelique Foucault-Simonin and Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz},
journal = {Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2026.117571},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05778365v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Molecular detection of Rickettsia helvetica in lesion and blood samples after tick bites in Serbia: two cases with One Health implications
AU - Pavle Banović
AU - Dragana Mijatović
AU - Verica Simin
AU - Ivana Bogdan
AU - Dejan Jakimovski
AU - Angelique Foucault-Simonin
AU - Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/22
JO - Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
DO - 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2026.117571
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05778365v1
AB - A C TRickettsia helvetica is a spotted fever group rickettsia associated mainly with Ixodes ricinus and increasingly detected in European ticks. We describe two tick-bite-associated human cases in Serbia in May 2025. A 65-yearold woman (Case 1) developed pruritic erythematous lesions after two adult female I. ricinus attachments acquired in the Valjevo area. Rickettsia spp. DNA was detected in capillary blood from both lesions, and sequencing of the PCR amplicons identified R. helvetica, while whole blood was PCR-negative and serology did not show reproducible seroconversion. An 8-year-old girl (Case 2) developed a pruritic scalp papule/crust and occipital/ cervical lymphadenopathy after an adult female Haemaphysalis punctata attachment in Petrovaradin forest. Rickettsia spp. DNA was detected in lesion capillary blood and whole blood; sequencing identified both as R. helvetica. Clinical signs resolved after doxycycline. These observations support lesion-focused molecular testing and integrated human-tick-environment surveillance for underdiagnosed spotted fever group rickettsioses in Serbia.
SN - 0732-8893
SN - 1879-0070
ER -