ABSTRACT
Rickettsia tsutsugamushi was isolated from L. (L.) arenicola chiggers and three species of rats in an area of scrub and sedge along the Bay of Jakarta. This is the only finding in Indonesia of a cycle of the agent of scrub typhus associated with L. (L.) arenicola. A serologic survey of nearly 300 persons living in two kampungs near the site at which rickettsiae were recovered revealed one individual with antibodies to R. tsutsugamushi. Murine typhus, with a seropositivity rate of 6.5%, may be endemic at low levels.
Subject(s)
Animals , Antibodies/analysis , Disease Vectors , Humans , Indonesia , Mites/parasitology , Muridae/parasitology , Orientia tsutsugamushi/isolation & purification , Scrub Typhus/immunology , Trombiculidae/parasitology , Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne/parasitology , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
A survey of smnall mammals and their ectoparasites was conducted on the islands of Biak and Owi, Indonesia, in August 1976. Two species of chiggers known to serve as vectors of scrub typhus were found: Leptotrombidium (Leptotrombidium) deliense from Rattus exulans, R. ruber, and R. r. septicus; L. (L.) flectcheri from R. exulans, R. leucopus and R. r. septicus. Rickettsia tsutsugamushi was isolated from the spleens of R. exulans and R. r. septicus. The favored ecotype of the chigger and rat hosts of R. tsutsugamushi appeared to be coarse, low-lying native vegetation on a porous coralline soil. These and similar nearby coral islands should be considered high risk areas for scrub typhus.