In 2015, we evaluated 221 patients with undifferentiated fever and tick bite or animal exposure in Xinyang, China, for Rickettsia infection. Three with mild disease were infected with Candidatus R. xinyangensis, which clustered with R. fournieri and R. vini in phylogenetic analyses. Field investigations suggest Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks might be involved in transmission.
Keywords: Candidatus Rickettsia xinyangensis; China; Haemaphysalis longicornis; Rickettsia; bacteria; field investigation; gltA; htrA; human infection; ompA; ompB; phylogenetic analysis; rickettsiosis; sca4; spotted fever group rickettsiae; ticks; vector-borne infections.