Rickettsia rickettsii (abbreviated as R. rickettsii) is a gram-negative, intracellular, coccobacillus bacterium that is around 0.8 to 2.0 micrometers long. R. rickettsi is the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. R. rickettsii is one of the most pathogenic Rickettsia strains known to humans and affects a large majority of the Western Hemisphere and small portions of the Eastern Hemisphere.