Detection of new genotypes of Orientia tsutsugamushi infecting humans in Thailand.
PCR screening of blood specimens taken from 195 patients with serologically confirmed scrub typhus in three Thai provinces detected the 56-kDa protein-encoding gene from Orientia tsutsugamushi in ten (5%) patients. Significant genetic diversity was found among the ten amplicons, with nine new genotypes identified that were different from those found previously in Thailand. Phylogenetically, the ten sequences obtained in the present study and sequences from 71 strains characterised previously were distributed into several clusters that included the Karp, Gilliam, Kuroki, Saitama, Kawasaki and Kato clusters. Two of the new genotypes found in the present study clearly belonged to the Karp cluster. However, the other new genotypes formed three different clusters, including one cluster that appeared to be distant from all previously known clusters, and which may therefore be representative of a previously undescribed serotype. Other genotypes formed two other clusters that may also be associated with undescribed serotypes.
Fournier
P-E
PE
Unité des Rickettsies, IFR 48, CNRS UMR6020, Faculté de Médecine, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France.
Siritantikorn
S
S
Rolain
J-M
JM
Suputtamongkol
Y
Y
Hoontrakul
S
S
Charoenwat
S
S
Losuwanaluk
K
K
Parola
P
P
Raoult
D
D
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C064828:Sta56 antigen, Rickettsia tsutsugamushi