Table 1.

The family of Rickettsiaceae

Genus	Group	Species	Vector	Reservoir	Disease/symptoms	Distribution
Rickettsia	SFG	R. rickettsii	Tick	Rodents	Rocky Mountain SF	North, Central and South America
		R. conorii	Tick	Rodents	Mediterranean SF	Europe, Asia, Africa
		R. honei	Tick	Rodents	Flinder´s island SF	Australia, Thailand
		R. japonica	Tick	Rodents	Japanese SF/oriental SF	Japan
		R. sibirica	Tick	Rodents	North Asian tick typhus	Russia, China, Mongolia, Europe
		R. africae	Tick	Rodents	African tick bite fever	Sub-Saharan Africa, Caribbean
		R. slovaca	Tick	Rodents	Necrosis, erythema	Europe
		R. helvetica	Tick	Rodents	Aneruptive fever	Africa, Europe, Asia
		R. parkeri	Tick	Rodents	Mild spotted fever	US, Brazil, Uruguay
	TG	R. prowazekii	Louse	Human, flying squirrel	Epidemic typhus	Worldwide
		R. typhi	Flea	Rodents, cats, dogs	Endemic typhus	Worldwide
	Transitional	R. felis	Flea	Rodents, cats, opossums	Cat flea typhus	Worldwide
		R. akari	Mite	Rodents	Rickettsialpox	Worldwide
		R. australis	Tick	Rodents	Queensland tick typhus	Australia, Tasmania
	Ancestral	R. bellii	Tick
		R. canadensis	Tick
Orientia		O. tsutsugamushi	Mite	Rodents	Scrub typhus	Indian subcontinent, Asia, Australia

The family of Rickettsiceae consists of two genera: Rickettsia and Orientia. O. tsutsugamushi is the only member of the genus Orientia. The genus Rickettsia is subdivided into four groups: SFG (spotted fever group), TG (typhus group), transitional and ancestral rickettsiae. The vast majority of rickettsiae belongs to the SFG. SF spotted fever (adapted and modified from [5])