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Persistence of Orientia tsutsugamushi in Humans
Journal of Korean Medical Science ; : 231-235, 2012.
Article in English | WPRIM | ID: wpr-73187
ABSTRACT
We investigated the persistence of viable Orientia tsutsugamushi in patients who had recovered from scrub typhus. Blood specimens were available from six patients with scrub typhus who were at 1 to 18 months after the onset of the illness. The EDTA-treated blood specimens were inoculated into ECV304 cells, and cultures were maintained for 7 months. Sequencing of the 56-kDa type-specific antigen gene of O. tsutsugamushi was performed to ascertain the homology of isolates. O. tsutsugamushi was isolated from all six patients, and nucleotide sequences of isolates serially collected from each patient were identical in all five patients in whom nucleotide sequences were compared. One patient relapsed 2 days after completion of antibiotic therapy; two patients complained of weakness for 1 to 2.5 months after the illness; one patient underwent coronary angioplasty 6 months later; and one patient suffered from a transient ischemic attack 8 months later. This finding suggests that O. tsutsugamushi causes chronic latent infection, which may be associated with certain clinical illnesses, preceded by scrub typhus. Antibiotic therapy abates the symptoms of scrub typhus, but does not eradicate O. tsutsugamushi from the human body.
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Full text: Available Index: WPRIM (Western Pacific) Main subject: Recurrence / Orientia tsutsugamushi / Time Factors / Bacterial Proteins / Coronary Artery Disease / DNA, Bacterial / Scrub Typhus / Base Sequence / Case-Control Studies / Ischemic Attack, Transient Type of study: Observational study / Risk factors Limits: Adult / Aged / Aged80 / Female / Humans / Male Language: English Journal: Journal of Korean Medical Science Year: 2012 Type: Article

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Full text: Available Index: WPRIM (Western Pacific) Main subject: Recurrence / Orientia tsutsugamushi / Time Factors / Bacterial Proteins / Coronary Artery Disease / DNA, Bacterial / Scrub Typhus / Base Sequence / Case-Control Studies / Ischemic Attack, Transient Type of study: Observational study / Risk factors Limits: Adult / Aged / Aged80 / Female / Humans / Male Language: English Journal: Journal of Korean Medical Science Year: 2012 Type: Article