Conclusion:
We have reported on the detection of tick-borne rickettsia pathogens which are the etiologic agents of spotted fever group rickettsioses. We assessed ticks collected from domestic animals and found the DNA ofR. africae, R. parkeri and R. tamurae in the three genera of ticks collected in this study. The detection of genetic materials ofR. parkeri and R. tamurae in ticks collected in Africa calls for further studies to elucidate this result. The discordance of the omp A and omp B genes fragments of the same samples is also another observation that should be studied further in detail. Full genome sequencing or a complete omp A and omp B would have helped to further resolve these controversies but insufficient resources constrained us. Usually, the SFGR are not considered in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with signs and symptoms of fever in these rural communities. This data is therefore a wakeup call on health personal in the study communities to consider infections caused by these pathogens as they may probably be responsible for the flulike symptoms presented by their patients. They should also educate the community member on the health implications of ticks’ bites and the need to report such bites as quickly as possible. Aggressive ticks control strategies should be commenced by the relevant government agencies so as to mitigate the health implications of ticks’ infestations. Further studies are needed to demonstrate the competence of A. hebraeum as regarding acquisition and transmission of R. parkeri as well as changes in the endosymbionts in the tick species. The limitations of the study are that tick genders and feeding states were not considered however, these do not in any way diminish the relevance of the findings of the study.