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Accession Number:
ADA552035
Title:
Endemic Scrub Typhus-like Illness, Chile
Descriptive Note:
Journal article
Corporate Author:
NAVAL MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER SILVER SPRING MD
Report Date:
2011-09-01
Pagination or Media Count:
6.0
Abstract:
We report a case of scrub typhus in a 54-year-old man who was bitten by several terrestrial leeches during a trip to Chiloe Island in southern Chile in 2006. A molecular sample, identified as related to Orientia tsutsugamushi based on the sequence of the 16S rRNA gene, was obtained from a biopsy specimen of the eschar on the patients leg. Serologic analysis showed immunoglobulin G conversion against O. tsutsugamushi whole cell antigen. This case and its associated molecular analyses suggest that an Orientia-like agent is present in the Western Hemisphere that can produce scrub typhus-like illness. The molecular analysis suggests that the infectious agent is closely related, although not identical, to members of the Orientia sp. from Asia.
Distribution Statement:
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE