Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) research grant, no. BB/L018985/1. The data used in this study were collected as part of the monitoring and evaluation processes of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative programs taking place in Niger. Sequences were obtained using the DNA sequencing facilities in the Natural History Museum. Ethical approval for this research was granted by the Niger Ministry of Health Ethical Review Board and by the Imperial College Research Ethics Committee (ICREC_8_2_2, EC no. 03.36, R&D no. 241 03/SB/003E) in combination with ongoing Schistosomiasis Control Initiative activities. All infected children in the study were provided treatment with 40 mg/kg praziquantel. References 1. Steinmann P, Keiser J, Bos R, Tanner M, Utzinger J. Schistosomiasis and water resources development: systematic review, meta- analysis, and estimates of people at risk. Lancet Infect Dis. 2006;6:411–25 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(06)70521-7 2. Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases. London declaration on neglected tropical diseases [cited 2016 Jan 22]. http://unitingtocombatntds.org/resource/london-declaration 3. King KC, Stelkens RB, Webster JP, Smith DF, Brockhurst MA. Hybridization in parasites: consequences for adaptive evolution, pathogenesis, and public health in a changing world. PLoS Pathog. 2015;11:e1005098 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005098 4. Webster JP, Gower CM, Knowles SC, Molyneux DH, Fenton A. One Health—an ecological and evolutionary framework for tackling neglected zoonotic diseases. Evol Appl. 2016;9:313–33 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eva.12341 5. Huyse T, Webster BL, Geldof S, Stothard JR, Diaw OT, Polman K, et al. Bidirectional introgressive hybridization between a cattle and human schistosome species. PLoS Pathog. 2009;5:e1000571 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000571 6. Webster BL, Diaw OT, Seye MM, Webster JP, Rollinson D. Introgressive hybridization of Schistosoma haematobium group species in Senegal: species barrier break down between ruminant and human schistosomes. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013;7:e2110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002110 7. Rollinson D, Southgate VR, Vercruysse J, Moore PJ. Observations on natural and experimental interactions between Schistosoma bovis and S. curassoni from West Africa. Acta Trop. 1990;47: 101–14 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0001-706X(90)90072-8 8. Taylor MG, Nelson GS, Smith M, Andrews BJ. Comparison of the infectivity and pathogenicity of six species of African schistosomes and their hybrids. 2. Baboons. J Helminthol. 1973;47:455–85 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X00027462 9. Vercruysse J, Southgate VR, Rollinson D. Schistosoma curassoni Brumpt, 1931 in sheep and goats in Senegal. Journal of Natural History. 1984;18:969–76 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222938400770851 10. Moné H, Holtfreter MC, Allienne JF, Mintsa-Nguéma R, Ibikounlé M, Boissier J, et al. Introgressive hybridizations of Schistosoma haematobium by Schistosoma bovis at the origin of the frst case report of schistosomiasis in Corsica (France, Europe). Parasitol Res. 2015;114:4127–33 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00436- 015-4643-4 Address for correspondence: Elsa Léger, Department of Pathology and Pathogen Biology, Centre for Emerging, Endemic and Exotic Diseases, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London AL9 7TA, UK; email: eleger@rvc.ac.uk Rickettsia raoultii in Dermacentor reticulatus Ticks, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, 2010 Grzegorz Karbowiak, Kateryna Slivinska, Tomasz Chmielewski, Kamila Barszcz, Stanisława Tylewska-Wierzbanowska, Joanna Werszko, Tomasz Szewczyk, Piotr Wróblewski Author affliations: W. Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland (G. Karbowiak, J. Werszko, T. Szewczyk, P. Wróblewski); I.I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine (K. Slivinska); National Institute of Public Health– National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw (T. Chmielewski, K. Barszcz, S. Tylewska-Wierzbanowska) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2212.160678 To the Editor: The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) surrounds the center of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Preliminary study shows predominance of Der- macentor reticulatus ticks in the CEZ; ticks of other species, such as Ixodes ricinus, are surprisingly rare, even in habitats where they should be relatively common (1). A few reports document presence of Ix. trianguliceps ticks (2,3). Preva- lence of pathogens (Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Babesia spp.) in these ticks is higher in the CEZ than in other regions (3,4). One pathogen transmitted by Dermacentor spp. ticks is Rickettsia raoultii, which has been isolated from species of Dermacentor ticks found in Asia (5,6) and since 1999 has also been detected in Europe. In our study, D. reticulatus ticks were collected by use of the fagging method (1) in the CEZ in September 2010. Ticks were collected from areas where they were known to occur, around the former villages of Korohod (51°16′02′′N; 30°01′04′′E) and Cherevach (51°12′44′′N; 30°07′45′′E) and around Chernobyl city (51°17′04′′N; 30°13′25′′E). The habitats investigated included open areas and the remnants of farmlands. A total of 201 D. reticulatus ticks, 87 males and 114 females, were collected and investigated (Table). DNA was extracted by use of the ammonium hydroxide method (7). Isolated DNA was examined for the presence of the Rickettsia sp. citrate synthase gene (gltA) by use of PCR with RpCS.409d and RpCS.1258n primers (8). Positive am- plicons were sequenced, and sequences were edited by using AutoAssembler software (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) and compared with GenBank entries by using blastn version 2.2.13 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/ download.shtml). All obtained sequences were submitted to GenBank (accession nos. KX056493 and KX056494). 2214 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 22, No. 12, December 2016 LETTERS