title: Diagnostic tests for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other rickettsial diseases.
abstract: Rickettsial diseases continue to confound physicians because of their usually sporadic occurrence and nonspecific clinical presentation. In past years, diagnosis was confirmed only during convalescence; however, newer, more widely available methods, such as antigen detection and improved in vitro cultivation, have enabled a diagnosis at a time when therapeutic decisions are made. Molecular nucleic acid-based techniques have also expanded the spectrum of etiologic agents and illnesses caused by rickettsiae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine and Medical Systems, Baltimore.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Dumler
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D016917:Angiomatosis, Bacillary / Q000175:diagnosis; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D001907:Boutonneuse Fever; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D010382:Peliosis Hepatis / Q000175:diagnosis; D011778:Q Fever / Q000175:diagnosis; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D012288:Rickettsiaceae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000175:diagnosis; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000175:diagnosis; D014437:Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne / Q000175:diagnosis; D014438:Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial