Question

Do the Rickettsia bacteria harm or injure the tick or mite host, as we see in lice and Typhus? Explain.

Answer 1

Answer:

No. Rickettsia use an arthropod as a vector host to cause the disease in their final host, usually vertebrades. However, they do not harm vector host as ticks.

Explanation:

Rickettsia are strict parasites, they are bacteria that must live inside the cells of their hosts. Specifically, they are found in mammals and at some point in their life cycle, they are associated with arthropods (fleas, lice or ticks) that transport the parasite from one animal to another, without getting any harm. There are different diseases in humans associated with different species of Rickettsias and the arthropods that carry them:

Typhus is caused by Rickettsia prowazekii and transmitted by body or head lice.

Murine typhus is caused by Rickettsia typhi, transmitted by fleas.

Rickettsia rickettsii is normally transmitted by ticks causing Rocky Mountain spotted fever