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Li H, Zhang PH, Du J, Yang ZD, Cui N, Xing B, Zhang XA, Liu W. Rickettsia japonica Infections in Humans, Xinyang, China, 2014-2017. Emerg Infect Dis 2020; 25:1719-1722. [PMID: 31441748 PMCID: PMC6711240 DOI: 10.3201/eid2509.171421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
During 2014–2017, we screened for Rickettsia japonica infection in Xinyang, China, and identified 20 cases. The major clinical manifestations of monoinfection were fever, asthenia, myalgia, rash, and anorexia; laboratory findings included thrombocytopenia and elevated hepatic aminotransferase concentrations. Physicians in China should consider R. japonica infection in at-risk patients.
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Jang WJ, Choi YJ, Kim JH, Jung KD, Ryu JS, Lee SH, Yoo CK, Paik HS, Choi MS, Park KH, Kim IS. Seroepidemiology of Spotted Fever Group and Typhus Group Rickettsioses in Humans, South Korea. Microbiol Immunol 2013; 49:17-24. [PMID: 15665449 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2005.tb03635.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The prevalence of spotted fever group (SFG) and typhus group (TG) rickettsioses was investigated in 3,362 sera by immunofluorescence assay. The serum samples were obtained from patients with acute febrile episodes in South Korea from December 1992 to November 1993. The number of polyvalent positive sera against SFG rickettsial agents at the level of 1: 40 dilution was 269 (8%) in Rickettsia sibirica, 482 (14.34%) in R. conorii, and 546 (16.24%) in R. akari. Many of the positive sera contained immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibodies rather than IgG antibodies. These results strongly suggest that SFG rickettsioses are prevalent in Korea. For TG rickettsial agents, the number of positive sera was 1,096 (32.60%) in R. typhi and 951 (28.29%) in R. prowazekii. Only a few epidemic typhus positive sera contained IgM antibodies. The result suggests that recent and/or primary infections of epidemic typhus were very rare in Korea during the said period. Among seven patients who had high titers (1:5,120) of IgG antibody to R. prowazekii, six were over 50 years old. The result suggests that Brill-Zinsser disease was prevalent in Korea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won-Jong Jang
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Kon-Kuk University, Choongju-si, Choongbuk, Republic of Korea
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Choi YJ, Lee SH, Park KH, Koh YS, Lee KH, Baik HS, Choi MS, Kim IS, Jang WJ. Evaluation of PCR-based assay for diagnosis of spotted fever group rickettsiosis in human serum samples. CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY IMMUNOLOGY 2006; 12:759-63. [PMID: 15939751 PMCID: PMC1151970 DOI: 10.1128/cdli.12.6.759-763.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
A nested PCR assay was developed for the detection of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae in serum samples. The assay was based on specific primers derived from the rickettsial outer membrane protein B gene (rompB) of Rickettsia conorii. An SFG rickettsia-specific signal is obtained from R. akari, R. japonica, R. sibirica, and R. conorii. Other bacterial species tested did not generate any signal, attesting to the specificity of the assay. As few as seven copies of the rompB gene of R. conorii could be detected in 200 microl of serum sample. The assay was evaluated with a panel of sera obtained from patients with acute-phase febrile disease tested by immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA). The SFG rickettsia-specific DNA fragment was detected in 71 out of 100 sera, which were proven to have immunoglobulin M antibodies against SFG rickettsial antigen by IFA. The results were further confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing analysis of the DNA fragments. The results indicated that this PCR assay is suitable for the diagnosis of spotted fever group rickettsiosis in Korea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeon-Joo Choi
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Choongu-shi, Choongbuk 380-701, Republic of Korea
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Jang WJ, Kim JH, Choi YJ, Jung KD, Kim YG, Lee SH, Choi MS, Kim IS, Walker DH, Park KH. First serologic evidence of human spotted fever group rickettsiosis in Korea. J Clin Microbiol 2004; 42:2310-3. [PMID: 15131221 PMCID: PMC404613 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.42.5.2310-2313.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate the prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsioses in Korea, a serosurvey of Japanese spotted fever rickettsiosis in patients with acute febrile illness was conducted with an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Overall, 19.88% of the patients were found to have polyvalent antibody against Rickettsia japonica. This study is the first documentation of spotted fever group rickettsiosis in Korea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won-Jong Jang
- Department of Microbiology, Kon-Kuk University College of Medicine, Choongju-si, Choongbuk 380-701, Republic of Korea
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Lee JH, Park HS, Jung KD, Jang WJ, Koh SE, Kang SS, Lee IY, Lee WJ, Kim BJ, Kook YH, Park KH, Lee SH. Identification of the spotted fever group rickettsiae detected from Haemaphysalis longicornis in Korea. Microbiol Immunol 2003; 47:301-4. [PMID: 12801068 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2003.tb03399.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Seven Haemaphysalis ticks were found positive in PCR assay of gltA gene to detect the spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae DNA from 100 ticks. The nucleotide sequence of 16S rRNA gene was determined from 5 ticks and compared to those of other Rickettsia strains. The nucleotide sequence from 4 ticks showed high homologies (99.7 to 100%) with that of R. japonica YH, and that from 1 tick (tick no. 48) was identical with that of R. rickettsii R, suggesting that SFG rickettsiae exists in Korea. This is the first documentation of SFG rickettsiae in Korea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung-Hee Lee
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Chungju, Chungchongbuk-Do 380-701, Korea
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Lee JH, Park HS, Jang WJ, Koh SE, Kim JM, Shim SK, Park MY, Kim YW, Kim BJ, Kook YH, Park KH, Lee SH. Differentiation of rickettsiae by groEL gene analysis. J Clin Microbiol 2003; 41:2952-60. [PMID: 12843026 PMCID: PMC165385 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.41.7.2952-2960.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The nucleotide sequences (534 to 546 bp) of the groEL gene, which encodes the 60-kDa heat shock protein GroEL, from 15 rickettsial strains were determined and compared. In the phylogenetic tree created by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages and the neighbor-joining method, rickettsial strains could be distinguished from Ehrlichia strains. Five spotted fever group strains, four typhus group strains, and six scrub typhus group (STG) strains were differentiated as distinct entities. Unlike gltA and ompA gene analyses, differentiation between members of the genus Rickettsia and the STG rickettsiae by groEL gene analysis was possible. In comparison with 16S rRNA gene analysis, the groEL gene has a higher degree of divergence among the rickettsiae. We therefore successfully developed rapid differentiation methods, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and a species-specific PCR, based on the groEL gene sequences. Four Korean isolates were identified by these methods and groEL gene analysis. The results suggest that the groEL gene is useful for the identification and characterization of rickettsiae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung-Hee Lee
- Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Chungju, Chungchongbuk-Do 380-701, Korea
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Satoh H, Motoi Y, Camer GA, Inokuma H, Izawa M, Kiyuuna T, Kumazawa N, Muramatsu Y, Ueno H, Morita C. Characterization of spotted fever group rickettsiae detected in dogs and ticks in Okinawa, Japan. Microbiol Immunol 2003; 46:257-63. [PMID: 12061628 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2002.tb02694.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial DNAs were detected in 2.4% of 340 canine blood samples and a pool of 84 tick pool samples (229 ticks) collected in Okinawa, Japan by PCR using a citrate synthase and an SFG rickettsial 190-kDa surface antigen gene primer pair. The sequences of both genes from canine blood and tick samples showed high levels of similarity with those of Rickettsiajaponica and several SFG rickettsiae (R. aeschlimannii, R. massiliae, R. rhipicephali and Bar-29 strain). Phylogenesis of canine blood and tick samples was closely related to that of reference SFG rickettsiae. Serological evidence of SFG rickettsial infection in dogs and humans in Okinawa, where no clinical human cases have been reported, has been obtained. In this study, genetical characterization of SFG rickettsia in Okinawa was investigated phylogenetically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Satoh
- Department of Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno-Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan
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Okabayashi T, Tsutiya K, Muramatsu Y, Ueno H, Morita C. Serological survey of spotted fever group rickettsia in wild rats in Thailand in the 1970s. Microbiol Immunol 1996; 40:895-8. [PMID: 9013486 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1996.tb01157.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
In Thailand, the first human cases of spotted fever group rickettsiosis were reported in 1994, but no serosurveys on wild rats have yet been conducted. We investigated the seroepidemiology in wild rats collected in the 1970s from two regions in Thailand, and found a 62.2% positive rate of antibodies for spotted fever group rickettsia (SFGR) by the indirect immunofluorescence antibody test. Of the antibody-positive rats, 82.2% had higher titers of antibodies against TT-118 than those against Rickettsia japonica, which suggests that Thailand is infested mainly with the TT-118 strain or its antigenically related organisms. The prevalence of antibodies in Bandicota indica was significantly higher than that in other species, which suggests that B. indica is important as a reservoir of SFGR in Thailand.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Okabayashi
- Department of Veterinary Public Health, Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido, Japan
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Uchiyama T, Zhao L, Yan Y, Uchida T. Cross-reactivity of Rickettsia japonica and Rickettsia typhi demonstrated by immunofluorescence and Western immunoblotting. Microbiol Immunol 1995; 39:951-7. [PMID: 8789054 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1995.tb03298.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Cross-reactivity between Rickettsia japonica and R. typhi was observed by immunofluorescence tests using sera from patients with Oriental spotted fever (OSF), from whom the causative agent was isolated and identified as R. japonica. Western immunoblotting with these sera revealed that only the 120-kilodalton surface polypeptide, i.e., rickettsial outer membrane protein (rOmp) B, has a common antigenicity with the 105-kilodalton surface polypeptide of R. typhi. In some cases, antibodies specifically reactive with R. typhi were detected in acute-phase sera followed by a significant rise in titers, possibly because of an anamnestic response to a previous infection with an R. typhi-like agent; the sera retained reactivity to R. typhi even after absorption by a homologous strain. A lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-like antigen of R. typhi was found to be reactive with some sera of OSF patients. The ladder bands on Western immunoblot of rickettsial organisms were confirmed to be polysaccharide in nature, which was demonstrated by comparing them with the pattern of silver-stained gel of proteinase K-treated rickettsial specimens after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Uchiyama
- Department of Virology, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima, Japan
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Affiliation(s)
- T Uchida
- Department of Virology, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima, Japan
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