Rickettsia monacensis has been detected in several regions of Europe and the species was officially validated in 2002. A 2007 a published report described mediterranean spotted fever-like R. monacensis infections in 2 patients living in northern Spain. The type strain IrR/Munich was isolated from Ixodes ricinus ticks, although other tick species have been reported for monancensis, including I. nipponensis and I.logicornis in Korea.