History and Current Status of Mediterranean Spotted Fever (MSF) in the Crimean Peninsula and Neighboring Regions along the Black Sea Coast

Muniver T Gafarova; Marina E Eremeeva

doi:10.3390/pathogens12091161

History and Current Status of Mediterranean Spotted Fever (MSF) in the Crimean Peninsula and Neighboring Regions along the Black Sea Coast

Pathogens. 2023 Sep 14;12(9):1161. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12091161.

Authors

Muniver T Gafarova¹, Marina E Eremeeva²

Affiliations

¹ S.I. Georgievsky Medical Academy (Academic Unit), V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, 295051 Simferopol, Russia.
² Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30458, USA.

Abstract

Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is a tick-borne rickettsiosis caused by Rickettsia conorii subspecies conorii and transmitted to humans by Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. The disease was first discovered in Tunisia in 1910 and was subsequently reported from other Mediterranean countries. The first cases of MSF in the former Soviet Union were detected in 1936 on the Crimean Peninsula. This review summarizes the historic information and main features of MSF in that region and contemporary surveillance and control efforts for this rickettsiosis. Current data pertinent to the epidemiology of the disease, circulation of the ticks and distribution of animal hosts are discussed and compared for each of the countries in the Black Sea basin where MSF occurs.

Keywords: Black Sea; Mediterranean spotted fever; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; Rickettsia conorii.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.