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Insect-transmitted rickettsiales diseases are significant sources of morbidity and mortality all over the world. Their incidence has been increasing in recent years in large part due to climate change and the movement of animals carrying the insect vectors. Currently there are no effective vaccines against diseases caused by members of the order Rickettsiales. Rickettsiales diseases are often misdiagnosed; this book is intended to serve as a tool for their understanding and diagnosis.

Rickettsiales covers the seven main genera: Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Midichloria, Neorickettsia, Orientia, Rickettsia and Wolbachia. Discussion of each genus includes immunology and molecular biology of host-pathogen interactions, epidemiology and diagnosis, and vaccination strategies and therapies.

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Part 1. Rickettsial: Importance and Taxonomy.- The Importance of Rickettsiales Infections.- Molecular Epidemiology of Rickettsial Disease.- Biodiversity of "Non-Model" Rickettsiales and Their Association with Aquatic Organisms.- Part 2. Rickettsiales: Diagnosis and Management of Diseases.- Rickettsiales: Laboratory Diagnosis.- Rickettsiales: Treatment and Management of Human Disease.- DHR-ICMR Guidelines for Diagnosis and Management of Rickettsial Disease in India.- Part 3. Ehrlichia.- Exit Strategies for Ehrlichia.- Development of Vaccines for Ehrlichiosis.- Identification of T Cell Epitopes in the Murine Host Response to Ehrlichia chaffeensis .- Mutagenesis in Ehrlichia and Anaplasma Species.- Epidemiology, Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Mechanism of Ehrlichia Infections.- Ehrlichia ruminantium: The Casual Agent of Heartwater.- Part 4. Rickettsia.- Human Rickettsioses: Host Response and Molecular Pathogenesis.- Genomes of Rickettsia Species.- Part 5. Anaplasma.- Anaplasma phagocytophilum in sheep.- Part 6. Neorickettsia.- Transmission Biology, Host Associations, Distribution and Molecular Diagnostics of Neorickettsia.- Part 6. Orientia.- Scrub typhus and its causative agent, Orientia tsutsugamushi .- Epidemiological Trends of Scrub Typhus.- Biology of Orientia tsutsugamushi .- Part 8. Wolbachia.- Wolbachia.- Part 9. Midichloraceae.- Transmission of Members of the Candidatus Midichloriaceae Family to Vertebrates and Possible Involvement in Disease Pathogenesis.

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Sunil ThomasLankenau Institute for Medical ResearchWynnewood, PA

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