Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| rickettsia typhi. a new causative agent of round pneumonia in adults. | 2012 | 22503113 | |
| murine typhus in returned travelers: a report of thirty-two cases. | murine typhus, caused by rickettsia typhi and transmitted mainly by the rat fleas, xenopsylla cheopis, has emerged in the field of travel medicine. we analyzed retrospectively the epidemiological, clinical, and biological characteristics of the 32 murine typhus cases that were diagnosed during the past 3 years at the world health organization collaborative center for rickettsial diseases, marseille, france. all of the cases occurred in travelers and most of them had returned from africa (n = 13 ... | 2012 | 22665617 |
| [rickettsiosis is a neglected cause of fever in returned travellers]. | we present two cases of rickettsial infections in travellers caused by rickettsia typhi and r. africae respectively. the two cases illustrate the widely varying symptomatology and aetiology. incidence and treatment of the disease are discussed. the diagnosis is complex, and we believe that rickettsiosis is an underestimated cause of fever in returned travellers from the tropics. in the past two years only 26 cases have been diagnosed in denmark. whenever rickettsiosis is clinically suspected, em ... | 2012 | 22668648 |
| murine typhus: endemic rickettsia in southwest texas. | murine typhus is a zoonosis caused by the organism rickettsia typhi and is transmitted to humans by fleas. it is endemic in several areas of texas, california and hawaii where the vector is supported predominantly by rodents in addition to opossums, domestic and feral cats and domestic dogs. we present a typical case in an adult from corpus christi, located in one of the four endemic areas in texas. included is an overview of the organism's pathogenicity and our host responses, both influencing ... | 2012 | 22693777 |
| tolc-dependent secretion of an ankyrin repeat-containing protein of rickettsia typhi. | rickettsia typhi, the causative agent of murine (endemic) typhus, is an obligate intracellular pathogen with a life cycle involving both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. in this study, we characterized a gene (rt0218) encoding a c-terminal ankyrin repeat domain-containing protein, named rickettsia ankyrin repeat protein 1 (rarp-1), and identified it as a secreted effector protein of r. typhi. rt0218 showed differential transcript abundance at various phases of r. typhi intracellular growth. ra ... | 2012 | 22773786 |
| cutaneous leishmaniasis and rickettsial african tick-bite fever: a combination of exotic traveler's diseases in the same patient. | cutaneous leishmaniasis and rickettsial african tick-bite fever are two zoonoses increasingly diagnosed in industrialized nations due to more international travel to endemic areas. | 2012 | 22788813 |
| surface proteome analysis and characterization of surface cell antigen (sca) or autotransporter family of rickettsia typhi. | surface proteins of the obligate intracellular bacterium rickettsia typhi, the agent of murine or endemic typhus fever, comprise an important interface for host-pathogen interactions including adherence, invasion and survival in the host cytoplasm. in this report, we present analyses of the surface exposed proteins of r. typhi based on a suite of predictive algorithms complemented by experimental surface-labeling with thiol-cleavable sulfo-nhs-ss-biotin and identification of labeled peptides by ... | 2012 | 22912578 |
| bloodstream infection among children presenting to a general hospital outpatient clinic in urban nepal. | there are limited data on the etiology and characteristics of bloodstream infections in children presenting in hospital outpatient settings in south asia. previous studies in nepal have highlighted the importance of murine typhus as a cause of febrile illness in adults and enteric fever as a leading bacterial cause of fever among children admitted to hospital. | 2012 | 23115652 |
| investigation of an outbreak of rickettsial febrile illness in guatemala, 2007. | we describe an outbreak of spotted fever group (sfg) rickettsiosis that occurred in 2007 in a farming community in southeastern guatemala. we identified 17 cases of an acute febrile illness, among which 10, including two fatalities, were confirmed or probable cases of rickettsial disease (case-fatality proportion 12%). | 2012 | 23266334 |
| two pathogens and one disease: detection and identification of flea-borne rickettsiae in areas endemic for murine typhus in california. | results of an environmental assessment conducted in a newly emergent focus of murine typhus in southern california are described. opossums, didelphis virginiana kerr, infested with cat fleas, ctenocephalides felis buché, in the suburban area were abundant. animal and flea specimens were tested for the dna of two flea-borne rickettsiae, rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis. r. felis was commonly detected in fleas collected throughout this area while r. typhi was found at a much lower prevalence ... | 2012 | 23270180 |
| the role of dogs in the eco-epidemiology of rickettsia typhi, etiological agent of murine typhus. | rickettsia typhi, etiological agent of murine typhus (mt), is transmitted to humans from an animal reservoir through two cycles: a classic rat-flea-rat cycle, and a peridomestic animal cycle. there are not many studies concerning which animals are involved in the peridomestic cycle, and most of them are focused on cats. the aim of this study was to determine the presence of r. typhi in dogs, not only by serological methods but also by direct methods such as culture and molecular detection. two h ... | 2012 | 23290118 |
| murine typhus: an important consideration for the nonspecific febrile illness. | murine typhus is a widely distributed flea-borne infection caused by rickettsia typhi. symptoms of murine typhus are nonspecific and mimic a variety of other infectious diseases. we herein report a case of murine typhus in an area where the broad use of ddt in the mid-20th century has now made it a rare disease. the patient described presented with headache, fever, and a faint macular rash. initial laboratory studies revealed a slight transaminase elevation. further questioning revealed exposure ... | 2012 | 23326268 |
| flea-borne rickettsioses in the north of caldas province, colombia. | rickettsia typhi and r. felis are the etiological agents of murine typhus and flea-borne spotted fever, respectively. both are emerging acute febrile zoonotic diseases for which fleas are vectors; they also have similar clinical characteristics and global distribution. in 2005, we identified the circulation of murine typhus in 6 towns within the mountainous coffee-growing area north of caldas, colombia. we now report the specific seroprevalence against r. typhi and r. felis, and associated risk ... | 2013 | 23473218 |
| rats, cities, people, and pathogens: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of literature regarding the ecology of rat-associated zoonoses in urban centers. | urban norway and black rats (rattus norvegicus and rattus rattus) are the source of a number of pathogens responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality in cities around the world. these pathogens include zoonotic bacteria (leptospira interrogans, yersina pestis, rickettsia typhi, bartonella spp., streptobacillus moniliformis), viruses (seoul hantavirus), and parasites (angiostrongylus cantonensis). a more complete understanding of the ecology of these pathogens in people and rats is ... | 2013 | 23590323 |
| murine typhus in tunisia: a neglected cause of fever as a single symptom. | we had for aim to describe the epidemiologic and clinic characteristics of murine typhus in a series of 43 serologically confirmed cases, in our region. | 2013 | 23619288 |
| molecular detection of rickettsia felis and candidatus rickettsia asemboensis in fleas from human habitats, asembo, kenya. | the flea-borne rickettsioses murine typhus (rickettsia typhi) and flea-borne spotted fever (fbsf) (rickettsia felis) are febrile diseases distributed among humans worldwide. murine typhus has been known to be endemic to kenya since the 1950s, but fbsf was only recently documented in northeastern (2010) and western (2012) kenya. to characterize the potential exposure of humans in kenya to flea-borne rickettsioses, a total of 330 fleas (134 pools) including 5 species (xenopsylla cheopis, ctenoceph ... | 2013 | 23675818 |
| murine typhus in humans, yucatan, mexico. | 2013 | 23735173 | |
| murine typhus and leptospirosis presenting with undifferentiated symptoms of an acute febrile illness to waikato hospital, new zealand, 2009-2010. | this prospective observational study aimed to identify what proportion of patients presenting to waikato hospital with undifferentiated symptoms of an acute febrile illness (usfi) have leptospirosis or murine typhus infection, and to identify factors at presentation predictive of each infection. it also aimed to identify infecting rickettsial organism(s) causing murine typhus in the region. | 2013 | 23799383 |
| rickettsia typhi possesses phospholipase a2 enzymes that are involved in infection of host cells. | the long-standing proposal that phospholipase a2 (pla2) enzymes are involved in rickettsial infection of host cells has been given support by the recent characterization of a patatin phospholipase (pat2) with pla2 activity from the pathogens rickettsia prowazekii and r. typhi. however, pat2 is not encoded in all rickettsia genomes; yet another uncharacterized patatin (pat1) is indeed ubiquitous. here, evolutionary analysis of both patatins across 46 rickettsia genomes revealed 1) pat1 and pat2 l ... | 2013 | 23818842 |
| rickettsioses in the central hills of sri lanka: serological evidence of increasing burden of spotted fever group. | to study the epidemiology, clinical features, and changing pattern of rickettsial infections on the western slopes of the hilly central province of sri lanka over 6 years. | 2013 | 23871280 |
| serological evidence for exposure of dogs to rickettsia conorii, rickettsia typhi, and orientia tsutsugamushi in sri lanka. | vector-borne rickettsial infection is a major cause of febrile illnesses throughout the world. although vertebrates hosting the vectors play a vital role in the natural cycle of rickettsiae, studies have not been conducted on them in sri lanka. therefore, the present study was designed to determine the exposure of dog population in rajawatta, thambavita, and areas of the western slopes and unawatuna of sri lanka to rickettsial pathogens. a total of 123 dog blood samples were collected from those ... | 2013 | 23930973 |
| molecular detection of rickettsia typhi in cats and fleas. | rickettsiatyphi is the etiological agent of murine typhus (mt), a disease transmitted by two cycles: rat-flea-rat, and peridomestic cycle. murine typhus is often misdiagnosed and underreported. a correct diagnosis is important because mt can cause severe illness and death. our previous seroprevalence results pointed to presence of human r. typhi infection in our region; however, no clinical case has been reported. although cats have been related to mt, no naturally infected cat has been describe ... | 2013 | 23940746 |
| murine typhus as a cause of cognitive impairment: case report and a review of the literature. | murine typhus is a systemic febrile illness caused by rickettsia typhi, a gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterium. it is found worldwide, including in the united states, where cases are concentrated in suburban areas of texas and california. the disease manifests with fever, headache, and rash. central nervous system involvement is rare in both adults and children. aseptic meningitis and meningoencephalitis are the most common neurological presentations, occurring in 2% to 5% of cases. n ... | 2014 | 24321542 |
| loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rickettsia typhi (the causal agent of murine typhus): problems with diagnosis at the limit of detection. | murine typhus is a flea-borne disease of worldwide distribution caused by rickettsia typhi. although treatment with tetracycline antibiotics is effective, treatment is often misguided or delayed due to diagnostic difficulties. as the gold standard immunofluorescence assay is imperfect, we aimed to develop and evaluate a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (lamp) assay. lamp assays have the potential to fulfill the who assured criteria (affordable, sensitive, specific, user friendly, robust an ... | 2014 | 24371248 |
| multispacer typing of rickettsia isolates from humans and ticks in tunisia revealing new genotypes. | rickettsioses are important remerging vector born infections. in tunisia, many species have been described in humans and vectors. genotyping is important for tracking pathogen movement between hosts and vectors. in this study, we characterized rickettsia species detected in patients and vectors using multispacer typing (mst), proposed by founier et al. and based on three intergenic spacers (dksa-xerc, rmpe- trna(fmet), mppa-pruc) sequencing. | 2013 | 24380581 |
| high prevalence of rickettsia typhi and bartonella species in rats and fleas, kisangani, democratic republic of the congo. | the prevalence and identity of rickettsia and bartonella in urban rat and flea populations were evaluated in kisangani, democratic republic of the congo (drc) by molecular tools. an overall prevalence of 17% bartonella species and 13% rickettsia typhi, the agent of murine typhus, was found in the cosmopolitan rat species, rattus rattus and rattus norvegicus that were infested by a majority of xenopsylla cheopis fleas. bartonella queenslandensis, bartonella elizabethae, and three bartonella genot ... | 2014 | 24445202 |
| molecular detection of rickettsia felis and bartonella henselae in dog and cat fleas in central oromia, ethiopia. | fleas are important vectors of several rickettsia and bartonella spp. that cause emerging zoonotic diseases worldwide. in this study, 303 fleas collected from domestic dogs and cats in ethiopia and identified morphologically as ctenocephalides felis felis, c. canis, pulex irritans, and echidnophaga gallinacea were tested for rickettsia and bartonella dna by using molecular methods. rickettsia felis was detected in 21% of fleas, primarily c. felis, with a similar prevalence in fleas from dogs and ... | 2014 | 24445204 |
| serosurvey of rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis in hiv-infected patients. | consistent with the effects of hiv on cell-mediated immunity, an increased susceptibility to intracellular microorganisms has been observed. rickettsiae are obligate intracellular microorganisms. the aim of this study was to examine rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis infections in hiv+ population. sera of 341 hiv+ patients were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescent assay. age, sex, residential locality, risk behavior, stage according to criteria of the center for disease control and prevent ... | 2014 | 24467705 |
| multimethylation of rickettsia ompb catalyzed by lysine methyltransferases. | methylation of rickettsial ompb (outer membrane protein b) has been implicated in bacterial virulence. rickettsial methyltransferases rp789 and rp027-028 are the first biochemically characterized methyltransferases to catalyze methylation of outer membrane protein (omp). methylation in omp remains poorly understood. using semiquantitative integrated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy, we characterize methylation of (i) recombinantly expressed fragments of rickettsia typhi ompb expose ... | 2014 | 24497633 |
| [the virus of murine typhus in mites (schongastia indica [trombiculidae])]. | 1950 | 24540125 | |
| myositis in a child with murine typhus. | a 12-year-old boy presented with fever, lower extremity pain and weakness. examination revealed paraparesis, thigh and calf tenderness. labs showed high creatinine phosphokinase and rickettsia typhi titers. this case illustrates endemic typhus should be considered in the differential diagnosis of myositis especially in areas with high prevalence of the disease. to our knowledge, this is the first reported case of myositis and paraparesis associated with a case of murine typhus. | 2014 | 24757508 |
| [murine typhus in a japanese traveler returning from indonesia: a case report]. | we report herein on a 20-year-old japanese man who was referred to our hospital for fever and diarrhea after returning from indonesia. on admission, his blood test was essentially normal, besides a slight elevation in inflammatory markers. after excluding malaria and dengue fever, empiric use of ceftriaxone was initiated for suspected enteric fever, which was unsuccessful. however, drastic clinical improvement was observed after initiation of minocycline. the polymerase chain reaction test for r ... | 2014 | 24783459 |
| three new species of fleas belonging to the genus macrostylophora from the three-striped ground squirrel, lariscus insignis, in java. | three new species of fleas belonging to the genus macrostylophora (siphonaptera, ceratophyllidae) are described from the three-striped ground squirrel, lariscus insignis, from tjibodas, west java (jawa barat), indonesia at an elevation of 1500 m. macrostylophora larisci sp. n. is described from three male specimens, macrostylophora debilitata sp. n. is described from one male and macrostylophora wilsoni sp. n. is described from one female. non-genital morphological characters of the female speci ... | 2014 | 24810381 |
| dual exposure of rickettsia typhi and orientia tsutsugamushi in the field-collected rattus rodents from thailand. | field-collected rodents and fleas from ten provinces covering four regions of thailand were investigated for possible rickettsial pathogen infections. the 257 trapped-rodents belonged to 12 species. five species of genus rattus accounted for 93% of the total capture, of which rattus exulans and rattus norvegicus were the two major species caught. all flea specimens, removed from trapped rodents, were identified as xenopsylla cheopis. the pcr technique was performed on ectoparasite specimens to d ... | 2014 | 24820571 |
| murine typhus associated with parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome in 2 children. | an 11-year-old-girl and a 13-year-old-boy presented with characteristic findings of parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome. the girl was initially suspected of having bartonella henselae infection and the boy was initially diagnosed as francisella tularensis infection. both children had laboratory-confirmed infection with rickettsia typhi. | 2014 | 24853542 |
| murine typhus: clinical and epidemiological aspects. | is an intracellular bacteria who causes murine typhus. his importance is reflected in the high frequency founding specific antibodies against rickettsia typhi in several worldwide seroepidemiological studies, the seroprevalence ranging between 3-36%. natural reservoirs of r. typhi are rats (some species belonging the rattus genus) and fleas (xenopsylla cheopis) are his vector. this infection is associated with overcrowding, pollution and poor hygiene. typically presents fever, headache, rash on ... | 2012 | 24893060 |
| rickettsial infections in southeast asia: implications for local populace and febrile returned travelers. | rickettsial infections represent a major cause of non-malarial febrile illnesses among the residents of southeast asia and returned travelers from that region. there are several challenges in recognition, diagnosis, and management of rickettsioses endemic to southeast asia. this review focuses on the prevalent rickettsial infections, namely, murine typhus (rickettsia typhi), scrub typhus (orientia tsutsugamushi), and members of spotted fever group rickettsiae. information on epidemiology and reg ... | 2014 | 24957537 |
| discovery of novel cross-protective rickettsia prowazekii t-cell antigens using a combined reverse vaccinology and in vivo screening approach. | rickettsial agents are some of the most lethal pathogens known to man. among them, rickettsia prowazekii is a select agent with potential use for bioterrorism; yet, there is no anti-rickettsia vaccine commercially available. owing to the obligate intracellular lifestyle of rickettsiae, cd8(+) t cells are indispensable for protective cellular immunity. furthermore, t cells can mediate cross-protective immunity between different pathogenic rickettsia, a finding consistent with the remarkable simil ... | 2014 | 25010827 |
| phenotype of the anti-rickettsia cd8(+) t cell response suggests cellular correlates of protection for the assessment of novel antigens. | the obligately intracellular bacteria rickettsia infect endothelial cells and cause systemic febrile diseases that are potentially lethal. no vaccines are currently available and current knowledge of the effective immune response is limited. natural and experimental rickettsial infections provide strong and cross-protective cellular immunity if the infected individual survives the acute infection. although resistance to rickettsial infections is attributed to the induction of antigen-specific t ... | 2014 | 25043277 |
| severe murine typhus with pulmonary system involvement. | we encountered a case of severe murine typhus complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome. to determine worldwide prevalence of such cases, we reviewed the literature and found that respiratory symptoms occur in ≈30% of murine typhus patients. in disease-endemic areas, murine typhus should be considered for patients with respiratory symptoms and fever. | 2014 | 25062435 |
| isolation of rickettsia typhi from human, mexico. | 2014 | 25076014 | |
| serosurveillance of orientia tsutsugamushi and rickettsia typhi in bangladesh. | scrub and murine typhus infections are under-diagnosed causes of febrile illness across the tropics, and it is not known how common they are in bangladesh. we conducted a prospective seroepidemiologic survey across six major teaching hospitals in bangladesh by using an igm enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. results indicated recent exposure (287 of 1,209, 23.7% seropositive for orientia tsutsugamushi and 805 of 1,209, 66.6% seropositive for rickettsia typhi). seropositive rates were different in ... | 2014 | 25092819 |
| spotted fever from rickettsia typhi in an older woman: a case report from a geographic area where it would not be expected. | we describe the case of a 75-year-old woman presenting with spotted fever followed by acute renal failure and septic shock. the infection was caused by rickettsia typhi, not reported in calabria district (southern italy) since world war ii. the diagnosis of murine typhus was made 3 days after admission and was based solely on clinical criteria when her worsening condition required a prompt move to the intensive care unit. therapy with tigecycline was then started immediately and the patient impr ... | 2014 | 25111740 |
| murine typhus in elderly patients: a prospective study of 49 patients. | the characteristics of rickettsia typhi infection in elderly patients have not been extensively described in the literature. | 2014 | 25119441 |
| noneruptive fever revealing murine typhus in a traveler returning from tunisia. | rickettsia species are increasingly being recognized as a cause of infection among returning travelers. murine typhus (mt) was mistakenly thought to have disappeared in the 1970s in tunisia, yet recent serological data show that rickettsia typhi, the causative agent of mt, still circulates in the tunisian population. we report here a case of mt in a woman returning from tunisia and hospitalized in france. her presentation was nonspecific, with acute noneruptive fever. diagnosis was confirmed by ... | 2015 | 25158857 |
| detection of rickettsia felis, rickettsia typhi, bartonella species and yersinia pestis in fleas (siphonaptera) from africa. | little is known about the presence/absence and prevalence of rickettsia spp, bartonella spp. and yersinia pestis in domestic and urban flea populations in tropical and subtropical african countries. | 2014 | 25299702 |
| pregnancy outcome in relation to treatment of murine typhus and scrub typhus infection: a fever cohort and a case series analysis. | there is a paucity of published reports on pregnancy outcome following scrub and murine typhus despite these infections being leading causes of undifferentiated fever in asia. this study aimed to relate pregnancy outcome with treatment of typhus. | 2014 | 25412503 |
| whole-proteome analysis of twelve species of alphaproteobacteria links four pathogens. | thousands of whole-genome and whole-proteome sequences have been made available through advances in sequencing technology, and sequences of millions more organisms will become available in the coming years. this wealth of genetic information will provide numerous opportunities to enhance our understanding of these organisms including a greater understanding of relationships among species. researchers have used 16s rrna and other gene sequences to study the evolutionary origins of bacteria, but t ... | 2013 | 25437336 |
| abducens nerve palsy and meningitis by rickettsia typhi. | patients with rickettsial infection may present with encephalitis or meningitis but neurologic involvement is rare in murine typhus. here, we report two patients with rickettsia typhi meningitis who presented with cranial neuropathy, presumably caused by two distinct disease processes. recognition of the disease manifestations is important because rickettsial infections are potentially associated with significant morbidity. simple effective treatments are available. | 2015 | 25548377 |
| rickettsial diseases and ectoparasites from military bases in japan. | ectoparasitic arthropods are often vectors of rickettsiosis. we conducted a survey of ectoparasites on u.s. military facilities throughout japan with the use of specimens submitted by pest control, public health, and veterinary personnel. over 1,600 individual ectoparasites were collected. fifteen species were identified, including several significant vectors of human diseases such as scrub typhus and rickettsial spotted fevers. these ectoparasites included ctenocephalides felis , haemaphysalis ... | 2015 | 25548900 |
| orientia, rickettsia, and leptospira pathogens as causes of cns infections in laos: a prospective study. | scrub typhus (caused by orientia tsutsugamushi), murine typhus (caused by rickettsia typhi), and leptospirosis are common causes of febrile illness in asia; meningitis and meningoencephalitis are severe complications. however, scarce data exist for the burden of these pathogens in patients with cns disease in endemic countries. laos is representative of vast economically poor rural areas in asia with little medical information to guide public health policy. we assessed whether these pathogens ar ... | 2015 | 25617190 |
| an investigation of bartonella spp., rickettsia typhi, and seoul hantavirus in rats (rattus spp.) from an inner-city neighborhood of vancouver, canada: is pathogen presence a reflection of global and local rat population structure? | urban norway and black rats (rattus norvegicus and rattus rattus) are reservoirs for variety of zoonotic pathogens. many of these pathogens, including rickettsia typhi, bartonella spp., and seoul hantavirus (seov), are thought to be endemic in rat populations worldwide; however, past field research has found these organisms to be absent in certain rat populations. rats (rattus spp.) from an inner city neighborhood of vancouver, canada, were tested for exposure to and/or infection with seov and r ... | 2015 | 25629777 |
| rickettsia and bartonella species in fleas from reunion island. | rickettsia felis, rickettsia typhi, and bartonella dna was detected by molecular tools in 12% of rattus rattus fleas (xenopsylla species) collected from reunion island. one-third of the infested commensal rodents captured during 1 year carried at least one infected flea. as clinical signs of these zoonoses are non-specific, they are often misdiagnosed. | 2015 | 25646263 |
| undifferentiated febrile illness in kathmandu, nepal. | undifferentiated febrile illnesses (ufis) are common in low- and middle-income countries. we prospectively investigated the causes of ufis in 627 patients presenting to a tertiary referral hospital in kathmandu, nepal. patients with microbiologically confirmed enteric fever (218 of 627; 34.8%) randomized to gatifloxacin or ofloxacin treatment were previously reported. we randomly selected 125 of 627 (20%) of these ufi patients, consisting of 96 of 409 (23%) cases with sterile blood cultures and ... | 2015 | 25667056 |
| epidemiological, clinical and laboratory features of murine typhus in central tunisia. | murine typhus is an endemic zoonosis. it is difficult to diagnose because of its non-specific clinical manifestations. our objective was to describe the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and treatment features of murine typhus. | 2015 | 25687303 |
| reemergence of murine typhus in galveston, texas, usa, 2013. | twelve patients with murine typhus were identified in galveston, texas, usa, in 2013. an isolate from 1 patient was confirmed to be rickettsia typhi. reemergence of murine typhus in galveston emphasizes the importance of vector control and awareness of this disease by physicians and public health officials. | 2015 | 25695758 |
| comparison of two quantitative real time pcr assays for rickettsia detection in patients from tunisia. | quantitative real time pcr (qpcr) offers rapid diagnosis of rickettsial infections. thus, successful treatment could be initiated to avoid unfavorable outcome. our aim was to compare two qpcr assays for rickettsia detection and to evaluate their contribution in early diagnosis of rickettsial infection in tunisian patients. | 2015 | 25706392 |
| clinical and epidemiological characteristics of scrub typhus and murine typhus among hospitalized patients with acute undifferentiated fever in northern vietnam. | a descriptive study on rickettsiosis was conducted at the largest referral hospital in hanoi, vietnam, to identify epidemiological and clinical characteristics of specific rickettsiosis. between march 2001 and february 2003, we enrolled 579 patients with acute undifferentiated fever (auf), excluding patients with malaria, dengue fever, and typhoid fever, and serologically tested for orientia tsutsugamushi and rickettsia typhi. of the patients, 237 (40.9%) and 193 (33.3%) had scrub and murine typ ... | 2015 | 25778504 |
| disrupting protein expression with peptide nucleic acids reduces infection by obligate intracellular rickettsia. | peptide nucleic acids (pnas) are single-stranded synthetic nucleic acids with a pseudopeptide backbone in lieu of the phosphodiester linked sugar and phosphate found in traditional oligos. pna designed complementary to the bacterial shine-dalgarno or start codon regions of mrna disrupts translation resulting in the transient reduction in protein expression. this study examines the use of pna technology to interrupt protein expression in obligate intracellular rickettsia sp. their historically in ... | 2015 | 25781160 |
| murine typhus in a liver transplant recipient: report of a first case. | zoonoses, especially rickettsial diseases, are rarely reported in solid organ transplant recipients. we report here a case of murine typhus in a 69-year-old liver transplant recipient, who presented with acute febrile illness 5 years post transplantation. although receiving treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics, he was still febrile and developed progressive dyspnea. laboratory results showed elevated transaminases and his chest radiograph revealed bilateral interstitial infiltration. the di ... | 2015 | 25867285 |
| rickettsia typhi in rodents and r. felis in fleas in yucatán as a possible causal agent of undefined febrile cases. | rickettsia typhi is the causal agent of murine typhus; a worldwide zoonotic and vector-borne infectious disease, commonly associated with the presence of domestic and wild rodents. human cases of murine typhus in the state of yucatán are frequent. however, there is no evidence of the presence of rickettsia typhi in mammals or vectors in yucatán. the presence of rickettsia in rodents and their ectoparasites was evaluated in a small municipality of yucatán using the conventional polymerase chain r ... | 0 | 25923891 |
| prevalence and characteristics of escherichia coli and salmonella spp. in the feces of wild urban norway and black rats (rattus norvegicus and rattus rattus) from an inner-city neighborhood of vancouver, canada. | although rat feces are widely suspected to be a source of pathogenic bacteria, few investigators have studied fecal pathogens in rats. we investigated the prevalence and characteristics of escherichia coli and salmonella spp. in norway and black rats (rattus norvegicus and rattus rattus, respectively) from an urban neighborhood of vancouver, canada, collected september 2011-august 2012. colon content was cultured for e. coli and salmonella spp. and screened for the seven most-common enteropathog ... | 2015 | 25932669 |
| development of recombinase polymerase amplification assays for detection of orientia tsutsugamushi or rickettsia typhi. | sensitive, specific and rapid diagnostic tests for the detection of orientia tsutsugamushi (o. tsutsugamushi) and rickettsia typhi (r. typhi), the causative agents of scrub typhus and murine typhus, respectively, are necessary to accurately and promptly diagnose patients and ensure that they receive proper treatment. recombinase polymerase amplification (rpa) assays using a lateral flow test (rpa-nfo) and real-time fluorescent detection (rpa-exo) were developed targeting the 47-kda gene of o. ts ... | 2015 | 26161793 |
| shell-vial culture and real-time pcr applied to rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis detection. | murine typhus is a zoonosis transmitted by fleas, whose etiological agent is rickettsia typhi. rickettsia felis infection can produces similar symptoms. both are intracellular microorganisms. therefore, their diagnosis is difficult and their infections can be misdiagnosed. early diagnosis prevents severity and inappropriate treatment regimens. serology can't be applied during the early stages of infection because it requires seroconversion. shell-vial (sv) culture assay is a powerful tool to det ... | 2015 | 26289162 |
| rickettsia infection could be the missing piece of the buerger's disease puzzle. | rickettsia was suggested as a possible etiology of buerger's disease (bd) in the 1980s but this suggestion was never ruled out or proven. recently, we found evidence of rickettsia by polymerase chain reaction in 3 out of 25 biopsy samples from the amputated limb of a young man diagnosed with bd. | 2015 | 26344511 |
| possible rickettsia massiliae infection in greece: an imported case. | tick-borne rickettsioses are endemic in greece; however, until recently, only rickettsia typhi and r. conorii were tested routinely in human samples arriving at the national reference center. during the last few years, the identification of different rickettsia species in ticks led to the introduction of other spotted fever group rickettsiae in routine analysis. under the new scheme, r. massiliae is now tested routinely in human samples; herein, we describe a human case of this infection. | 2016 | 26370425 |
| a case of human infection by rickettsia slovaca in greece. | although tick-borne rickettsiosis is endemic in greece, until recently, human samples arriving at the national reference centre under suspicion of rickettsial infection were routinely tested only for rickettsia typhi and r. conorii. however, identification of additional rickettsia species in ticks prompted revision of the protocol in 2010. until that year, all human samples received by the laboratory were tested for antibodies against r. conorii and r. typhi only. now, tests for r. slovaca, r. f ... | 2016 | 26370429 |
| rickettsioses in europe. | bacteria of the genera rickettsia and orientia (family rickettsiaceae, order rickettsiales) cause rickettsioses worldwide, and are transmitted by lice, fleas, ticks and mites. in europe, only rickettsia spp. cause rickettsioses. with improvement of hygiene, the risk of louse-borne rickettsiosis (epidemic typhus) is low in europe. nevertheless, recrudescent form of rickettsia prowazekii infection persists. there could be an epidemic typhus outbreak if a body lice epidemic occurs under unfavorable ... | 2016 | 26384814 |
| an unusual cutaneous manifestation in a patient with murine typhus. | murine typhus is a flea-borne febrile illness caused by rickettsia typhi. although often accompanied by rash, an inoculation lesion has not been observed as it is with many tick- and mite-transmitted rickettsioses. we describe a patient with murine typhus and an unusual cutaneous manifestation at the site of rickettsial inoculation. | 2015 | 26416115 |
| evaluation of a new serological test for the detection of anti-coxiella and anti-rickettsia antibodies. | coxiella burnetii and members of the genus rickettsia are obligate intracellular bacteria. since cultivation of these organisms requires dedicated techniques, their diagnosis usually relies on serological or molecular biology methods. immunofluorescence is considered the gold standard to detect antibody-reactivity towards these organisms. here, we assessed the performance of a new automated epifluorescence immunoassay (inodiag) to detect igm and igg against c. burnetii, rickettsia typhi and rick ... | 2016 | 26432518 |
| structural features of the o-antigen of rickettsia typhi, the etiological agent of endemic typhus. | elucidation of the o-specific polysaccharide chain of lipopolysaccharide (lps) from rickettsia typhi, the etiological agent of endemic typhus, is described. structural information was established by a combination of monosaccharide and methylation analyses of the o-chain, and by mass (ms) and nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectrometries of oligosaccharides arised through its hydrofluoric (hf) acid degradation. based on the combined data from these experiments, two major polymer populations of ... | 2015 | 26435145 |
| hospital-based surveillance for infectious etiologies among patients with acute febrile illness in georgia, 2008-2011. | information on the infectious causes of undifferentiated acute febrile illness (afi) in georgia is essential for effective treatment and prevention. in may 2008, a hospital-based afi surveillance was initiated at six hospitals in georgia. patients aged ≥ 4 years with fever ≥ 38°c for ≥ 48 hours were eligible for surveillance. blood culture and serologic testing were conducted for leptospira spp., brucella spp., west nile virus (wnv), crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever virus, coxiella burnetii, tick ... | 2016 | 26438032 |
| antibodies to rickettsia spp. and borrelia burgdorferi in spanish wild red foxes (vulpes vulpes). | we examined 314 red foxes (vulpes vulpes) from the province of soria, spain, for rickettsia typhi, rickettsia slovaca, and borrelia burgdorferi infection. immunofluorescence assays showed 1.9% had antibodies to r. typhi, 6.7% had antibodies to r. slovaca, and 8.3% had antibodies to b. burgdorferi. serostatus was not correlated with sex or age. because red foxes can be infected by rickettsiae and b. burgdorferi, presence of red foxes may be and indicator for the presence of these pathogens. | 2016 | 26540334 |
| prevalence of rickettsia and bartonella species in spanish cats and their fleas. | the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of bartonella henselae, rickettsia felis, and rickettsia typhi in fleas and companion cats (serum and claws) and to assess their presence as a function of host, host habitat, and level of parasitism. eighty-nine serum and claw samples and 90 flea pools were collected. cat sera were assayed by ifa for bartonella henselae and rickettssia species igg antibodies. conventional pcrs were performed on dna extracted from nails and fleas collected fro ... | 2015 | 26611956 |
| structural insight into how bacteria prevent interference between multiple divergent type iv secretion systems. | prokaryotes use type iv secretion systems (t4sss) to translocate substrates (e.g., nucleoprotein, dna, and protein) and/or elaborate surface structures (i.e., pili or adhesins). bacterial genomes may encode multiple t4sss, e.g., there are three functionally divergent t4sss in some bartonella species (vir, vbh, and trw). in a unique case, most rickettsial species encode a t4ss (rvh) enriched with gene duplication. within single genomes, the evolutionary and functional implications of cross-system ... | 2015 | 26646013 |
| revisiting doxycycline in pregnancy and early childhood--time to rebuild its reputation? | doxycycline is highly effective, inexpensive with a broad therapeutic spectrum and exceptional bioavailability. however these benefits have been overshadowed by its classification alongside the tetracyclines - class d drugs, contraindicated in pregnancy and in children under 8 years of age. doxycycline-treatable diseases are emerging as leading causes of undifferentiated febrile illness in southeast asia. for example scrub typhus and murine typhus have an unusually severe impact on pregnancy out ... | 2016 | 26680308 |
| detection of rickettsia species in fleas collected from cats in regions endemic and nonendemic for flea-borne rickettsioses in california. | rickettsia typhi, transmitted by rat fleas, causes most human flea-borne rickettsioses worldwide. another rickettsia, rickettsia felis, found in cat fleas, ctenocephalides felis, has also been implicated as a potential human pathogen. in the continental united states, human cases of flea-borne rickettsioses are reported primarily from the southern regions of texas and california where the cat flea is considered the principal vector. in california, more than 90% of locally acquired human cases ar ... | 2016 | 26824189 |
| molecular diagnosis of rickettsia infection in patients from tunisia. | diagnosis of rickettsioses had largely benefited from the development of molecular techniques. unfortunately, in tunisia, despite the large number of rickettsial cases registered every year, the rickettsia species remain unidentified. in this study, we aimed to detect the rickettsia species in clinical samples using molecular tests. a study was established to analyze skin biopsies, cutaneous swabs, and cerebrospinal fluid samples taken from clinically suspected patients to have rickettsial infec ... | 2016 | 26897395 |
| highly sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification for the detection of leptospira. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by an infection with the pathogenic species of leptospira. we have developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (lamp) assay to detect the dna of leptospira spp. six sets of primers targeting the gene of the subsurface protein, lipl32, were evaluated for their detection sensitivity. the best primer set detected less than 25 copies of lipl32 per reaction of both plasmid dna template and purified leptospiral genomic dna. by combining primers targe ... | 2015 | 26904743 |
| absence of serological evidence of rickettsia spp., bartonella spp., ehrlichia spp. and coxiella burnetii infections in american samoa. | little is known about the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases in american samoa (pacific). a review of literature did not identify any published information on human rickettsia spp., bartonella spp., ehrlichia spp. or coxiella burnetii infections in this country. to determine the presence of these diseases, we conducted a serosurvey of american samoans. the presence of immunoglobulin g antibodies against rickettsia felis, rickettsia typhi, rickettsia conorii, c. burnetii, bartonella henselae, bart ... | 2016 | 26965788 |
| persisting rickettsia typhi causes fatal central nervous system inflammation. | rickettsioses are emerging febrile diseases caused by obligate intracellular bacteria belonging to the family rickettsiaceae. rickettsia typhi belongs to the typhus group (tg) of this family and is the causative agent of endemic typhus, a disease that can be fatal. in the present study, we analyzed the course of r. typhi infection in c57bl/6 rag1(-/-) mice. although these mice lack adaptive immunity, they developed only mild and temporary symptoms of disease and survived r. typhi infection for a ... | 2016 | 26975992 |
| seroprevalence of antibodies to rickettsia typhi in the waikato region of new zealand. | the first reported new zealand-acquired case of murine typhus occurred near auckland in 1989. since then, 72 locally acquired cases have been recorded from northern new zealand. by 2008, on the basis of the timing and distribution of cases, it appeared that murine typhus was escalating and spreading southwards. to explore the presence of rickettsia typhi in the waikato region, we conducted a seroprevalence study, using indirect immunofluorescence, western blot, and cross-adsorption assays of blo ... | 2016 | 27040715 |
| sennetsu neorickettsiosis, spotted fever group, and typhus group rickettsioses in three provinces in thailand. | we estimated the seroprevalence and determined the frequency of acute infections with neorickettsia sennetsu, spotted fever group rickettsiae, rickettsia typhi, and orientia tsutsugamushi among 2,225 febrile patients presenting to community hospitals in three rural thailand provinces during 2002-2005. the seroprevalence was 0.2% for sennetsu neorickettsiosis (sn), 0.8% for spotted fever group (sfg) rickettsiae, 4.2% for murine typhus (mt), and 4.2% for scrub typhus (st). the frequency of acute i ... | 2016 | 27139448 |
| zoonotic and vector-borne infections among urban homeless and marginalized people in the united states and europe, 1990-2014. | in high-income countries, homeless individuals in urban areas often live in crowded conditions with limited sanitation and personal hygiene. the environment of homelessness in high-income countries may result in intensified exposure to ectoparasites and urban wildlife, which can transmit infections. to date, there have been no systematic evaluations of the published literature to assess vector-borne and zoonotic disease risk to these populations. | 2016 | 27159039 |
| detection of vector-borne pathogens in cats and their ectoparasites in southern italy. | vector-borne pathogens are the subject of several investigations due to the zoonotic concern of some of them. however, limited data are available about the simultaneous presence of these pathogens in cats and their ectoparasites. the aim of the present study was to define the species of ectoparasites found on cats as well as to investigate vector-borne pathogens in cats and their ectoparasites in southern italy. | 2016 | 27160725 |
| opossums and cat fleas: new insights in the ecology of murine typhus in galveston, texas. | murine typhus is an acute undifferentiated febrile illness caused by rickettsia typhi the classic reservoir (rattus spp.) and flea vector (xenopsylla cheopis) were once culprits of murine typhus in the united states. vector and rodent control efforts have drastically decreased the prevalence of disease, except in a few endemic foci where opossums and cat fleas play a role in transmission. since 2012, there has been a reemergence of murine typhus in galveston, tx. we hypothesize that opossums and ... | 2016 | 27273642 |
| spotted fever group rickettsioses and murine typhus in a malaysian teaching hospital. | limited information is available on the etiological agents of rickettsioses in southeast asia. herein, we report the molecular investigation of rickettsioses in four patients attending a teaching hospital in malaysia. dna of rickettsia sp. rf2125, rickettsia typhi, and a rickettsia closely related to rickettsia raoultii was detected in the blood samples of the patients. spotted fever group rickettsioses and murine typhus should be considered in the diagnosis of patients with nonspecific febrile ... | 2016 | 27402519 |
| rickettsiae and rickettsial diseases in croatia: implications for travel medicine. | to review the current state of knowledge concerning rickettsiae and rickettsioses in croatia and to discuss their implications for travellers. | 2017 | 27404664 |
| structural insights into substrate recognition and catalysis in outer membrane protein b (ompb) by protein-lysine methyltransferases from rickettsia. | rickettsia belong to a family of gram-negative obligate intracellular infectious bacteria that are the causative agents of typhus and spotted fever. outer membrane protein b (ompb) occurs in all rickettsial species, serves as a protective envelope, mediates host cell adhesion and invasion, and is a major immunodominant antigen. ompbs from virulent strains contain multiple trimethylated lysine residues, whereas the avirulent strain contains mainly monomethyllysine. two protein-lysine methyltransf ... | 2016 | 27474738 |
| liver necrosis and lethal systemic inflammation in a murine model of rickettsia typhi infection: role of neutrophils, macrophages and nk cells. | rickettsia (r.) typhi is the causative agent of endemic typhus, an emerging febrile disease that is associated with complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis and liver dysfunction. to elucidate how innate immune mechanisms contribute to defense and pathology we here analyzed r. typhi infection of cb17 scid mice that are congenic to balb/c mice but lack adaptive immunity. cb17 scid mice succumbed to r. typhi infection within 21 days and showed high bacterial load in spleen, brain, lung, and l ... | 2016 | 27548618 |
| molecular evidence of rickettsia typhi infection in dogs from a rural community in yucatán, méxico. | rickettsia typhi causes murine or endemic typhus, which is transmitted to humans primarily through flea bites contaminated with feces. synanthropic and domestic animals also contribute to the infection cycle of r. typhi. cases of murine typhus in humans were reported in the rural community of bolmay, yucatán, méxico, between 2007 and 2010. | 2016 | 27622624 |
| comparative evaluation of two rickettsia typhi-specific quantitative real-time pcrs for research and diagnostic purposes. | rickettsioses are caused by intracellular bacteria of the family of rickettsiaceae. rickettsia (r.) typhi is the causative agent of endemic typhus. the disease occurs worldwide and is one of the most prevalent rickettsioses. rickettsial diseases, however, are generally underdiagnosed which is mainly due to the lack of sensitive and specific methods. in addition, methods for quantitative detection of the bacteria for research purposes are rare. we established two qpcrs for the detection of r. typ ... | 2017 | 27696011 |
| ralf-mediated activation of arf6 controls rickettsia typhi invasion by co-opting phosphoinositol metabolism. | rickettsiae are obligate intracellular pathogens that induce their uptake into nonphagocytic cells; however, the events instigating this process are incompletely understood. importantly, diverse rickettsia species are predicted to utilize divergent mechanisms to colonize host cells, as nearly all adhesins and effectors involved in host cell entry are differentially encoded in diverse rickettsia species. one particular effector, ralf, a sec7 domain-containing protein that functions as a guanine n ... | 2016 | 27698019 |
| a prospective study of the importance of enteric fever as a cause of non-malarial febrile illness in patients admitted to chittagong medical college hospital, bangladesh. | fever is a common cause of hospital admission in bangladesh but causative agents, other than malaria, are not routinely investigated. enteric fever is thought to be common. | 2016 | 27737634 |
| flea-borne rickettsioses and rickettsiae. | rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis are flea-borne rickettsiae that are distributed throughout the world. this mini-review outlines the ecology and epidemiology of flea-borne rickettsioses; highlights important clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic considerations; and discusses areas of uncertainty regarding rickettsia felis and other rickettsiae harbored by fleas. | 2016 | 27799640 |
| limited evidence for rickettsia felis as a cause of zoonotic flea-borne rickettsiosis in southern california. | over 90% of human flea-borne rickettsioses cases in california are reported from suburban communities of los angeles and orange counties and are presumed to be associated with either rickettsia typhi or rickettsia felis infection. ctenocephalides felis (bouché) is considered the principal vector for both rickettsiae, and r. felis has largely replaced r. typhi as the presumptive etiologic agent based on the widespread incidence of r. felis in cat flea populations. however, with no evidence to con ... | 2016 | 27816916 |
| cd4+ t cells are as protective as cd8+ t cells against rickettsia typhi infection by activating macrophage bactericidal activity. | rickettsia typhi is an intracellular bacterium that causes endemic typhus, a febrile disease that can be fatal due to complications including pneumonia, hepatitis and meningoencephalitis, the latter being a regular outcome in t and b cell-deficient c57bl/6 rag1-/- mice upon rickettsia typhi infection. here, we show that cd4+ th1 cells that are generated in c57bl/6 mice upon r. typhi infection are as protective as cytotoxic cd8+ t cells. cd4+- as well as cd8+-deficient c57bl/6 survived the infect ... | 2016 | 27875529 |
| clinical and laboratory characteristics, epidemiology, and outcomes of murine typhus: a systematic review. | murine or endemic typhus, a febrile disease caused by rickettsia typhi, is often misdiagnosed due to its non-specific presentation. we sought to evaluate all available evidence in the literature regarding the clinical and laboratory manifestations, epidemiological characteristics, and outcomes of murine typhus. pubmed was searched for all articles providing available data. in an effort to incorporate contemporary data, only studies from 1980 were included. thirty-three case series including 2074 ... | 2017 | 27983969 |
| survey for rickettsiae within fleas of great gerbils, almaty oblast, kazakhstan. | little is known of the endemicity of flea-borne rickettsiae in kazakhstan. thus, a survey for rickettsiae within great gerbil fleas was conducted in almaty oblast. high prevalence of rickettsia asembonensis was detected among xenopsylla gerbilli, demonstrating that flea-borne rickettsiae are endemic to southeastern kazakhstan. interestingly, no rickettsia typhi were detected in these same fleas. | 2017 | 27992288 |
| limited evidence for rickettsia felis as a cause of zoonotic flea-borne rickettsiosis in southern california. | over 90% of human flea-borne rickettsioses cases in california are reported from suburban communities of los angeles and orange counties and are presumed to be associated with either rickettsia typhi or rickettsia felis infection. ctenocephalides felis (bouché) is considered the principal vector for both rickettsiae, and r. felis has largely replaced r. typhi as the presumptive etiologic agent based on the widespread incidence of r. felis in cat flea populations. however, with no evidence to con ... | 2017 | 28082625 |