text: R. rickettsii is the causative agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and is transferred to its host via a tick bite. It is one of the most pathogenic Rickettsia species and affects a large majority of the Western Hemisphere, most commonly the Americas. The pathogenic agent has been found on every continent, except Antarctica; however, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever occurs mostly in North, Central, and South America. This prevalence is due to R. rickettsi thriving in warm, damp environments. These environments provide sufficient conditions for the amplification of the bacteria within a vertebrate host, such as a horse or dog. The bacteria are transmitted through the vector, a tick, to a vertebrate host where it can then be amplified and passed on to a person, resulting in the zoonotic disease.
  Headache, high fever, and spotted rash are some effects of the disease with more severe cases resulting in organ damage and coma. Antibiotics, such as doxycycline, target the ribosome of R. rickettsii in order to inhibit protein synthesis of the bacteria, providing a form of treatment for the disease.
  Transmission cycle
  The most common hosts for R. rickettsii are ticks. Ticks that carry R. rickettsii fall into the family of Ixodidae ticks, also known as "hard-bodied" ticks. Ticks are vectors, reservoirs, and amplifiers of this bacteria.
  There are currently three known tick species that commonly carry R. rickettsii. The American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis), mainly found in the eastern United States, is the most common vector for R. rickettsii. The Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni), found in the Rocky Mountain States, and the Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), found in select areas of the southern United States, are also known vectors of the pathogen.