Endemic scrub typhus-like illness, Chile

Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Sep;17(9):1659-63. doi: 10.3201/eid1709.100960.

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 Chiloé Island in southern Chile in 2006. A molecular sample, identified as related to Orientia tsutsugamushi based on the sequence of the16S rRNA gene, was obtained from a biopsy specimen of the eschar on the patient's 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.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chile / epidemiology
  • Disease Vectors
  • Endemic Diseases*
  • Humans
  • Leeches / microbiology
  • Leg Ulcer / microbiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Orientia tsutsugamushi / classification
  • Orientia tsutsugamushi / genetics
  • Orientia tsutsugamushi / isolation & purification*
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Scrub Typhus / diagnosis*
  • Scrub Typhus / epidemiology
  • Scrub Typhus / microbiology
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S