AbstractRickettsial infections are an underrecognized cause of febrile illness in sub-Saharan Africa. To evaluate the epidemiology and clinical features of rickettsial disease in pediatric patients in Ghana, we screened blood samples from febrile children aged less than 15 years presenting to an outpatient department in Ghana's Ashanti Region for the presence of rickettsial DNA. We detectedRickettsia felisin 7/470 (1.5%) blood samples, using two independent real-time polymerase chain reactions. No otherRickettsiaspecies were found.R. feliswas detected repeatedly in one patient, and coinfection withPlasmodium falciparumwas found in 3/7 samples. Symptoms apart from fever included cough (6/7) and vomiting (4/7). None of theR. felis-positive patients reported a rash. This study is the first report onR. felisin Ghana and adds to the growing evidence for its widespread occurrence with and without malaria coinfection in sub-Saharan Africa.
