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Species Rickettsia rickettsii
Name: Rickettsia rickettsii corrig. (Wolbach 1919) Brumpt 1922 (Approved Lists 1980)
Basonym: "Dermacentroxenus rickettsii" corrig. Wolbach 1919
Etymology: ric.kett’si.i. N.L. gen. masc. n. rickettsii, of Ricketts, named after Howard Taylor Ricketts for his classic studies of the etiology of Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Pronunciation (Latin), gender: … rik-KETT-si-i, feminine
Type strain: ATCC VR-149; CRIRC RRI001; CSUR R5059; Iowa; Sheila Smith; Smith
Conduct genome-based taxonomy at
16S rRNA gene:
CP018913
Analyse
FASTA
Effective publication: Brumpt E. Précis de Parasitologie, 3rd ed. Masson et Cie, Paris, 1922.
IJSEM list:
Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420. 
Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP
Taxonomic status: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)
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Synonyms:
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Name Kind "Dermacentroxenus rickettsii" corrig. Wolbach 1919 homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists Rickettsia rickettsi (Wolbach 1919) Brumpt 1922 (Approved Lists 1980) other spelling of name, inaccurate spelling "Dermacentroxenus rickettsi" Wolbach 1919 homotypic synonym, inaccurate spelling
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Notes:
- 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 3". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "Animal classification RG: 3 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 3. — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "Z". — The risk group for France has been imported on 2024-08-30. The full classification is: risk group = 3. — The risk group for Sweden has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 3. — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 3, note = "P620 = v, P650 = v". — The risk group for United Kingdom has been imported on 2024-01-31. The full classification is: risk group = 3. — The risk group for United States has been imported on 2024-02-09. The full classification is: risk group = 3. — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
- 🎓 Name mentioned 924 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
- 🙆 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.
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🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen.
Publication:
Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology (Reading) 2022; 168:0.
🇬🇧
- 🧍 In the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, the type strain is erroneously cited as ATCC VR 149 (without dash). — The type strain ATCC VR-149 is uncataloged. — Tang J. Personal communication, 2001-11-05.
Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 0
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 0
Total number of child taxa: 4
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Child taxa:
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Name Nomenclatural status Taxonomic status "Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. californica" Paddock et al. 2026 not validly published preferred name "Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. californica" Paddock et al. 2025 not validly published synonym "Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. rickettsii" (Wolbach 1919) Paddock et al. 2026 not validly published synonym "Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. rickettsii" (Wolbach 1919) Paddock et al. 2025 not validly published preferred name
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Parent taxon: Rickettsia da Rocha-Lima 1916 (Approved Lists 1980)
Assigned by: Brumpt E. Précis de Parasitologie, 3rd ed. Masson et Cie, Paris, 1922.
Linking: To permanently link to this page, use https://lpsn.dsmz.de/species/rickettsia-rickettsiiLink copied to clipboard
Record number: 784800
This LPSN page was printed on 2026-03-08 10:09:15