Sennetsu neorickettsiosis: a probable fish-borne cause of fever rediscovered in Laos.
Neorickettsia sennetsu has been described from Japan and Malaysia, causing a largely forgotten infectious mononucleosis-like disease. Because it is believed to be contracted from eating raw fish, frequently consumed in the Lao PDR, we looked for evidence of N. sennetsu among Lao patients and fish. A buffy coat from 1 of 91 patients with undifferentiated fever was positive by 16S rRNA amplification and sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reactions (PCR) targeting two N. sennetsu genes. Lao blood donors and patients with fever, hepatitis, or jaundice (N = 1,132) had a high prevalence (17%) of immunofluorescence assay IgG anti-N. sennetsu antibodies compared with 4% and 0% from febrile patients (N = 848) in Thailand and Malaysia, respectively. We found N. sennetsu DNA by PCR, for the first time, in a fish (Anabas testudineus). These data suggest that sennetsu may be an under-recognized cause of fever and are consistent with the hypothesis that it may be contracted from eating raw fish.
Newton
Paul N
PN
Wellcome Trust-Mahosot Hospital-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Collaboration, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Lao PDR. paul@tropmedres.ac
Rolain
Jean-Marc
JM
Rasachak
Bouachanh
B
Mayxay
Mayfong
M
Vathanatham
Khamtanh
K
Seng
Piseth
P
Phetsouvanh
Rattanaphone
R
Thammavong
Te
T
Zahidi
Jamaayah
J
Suputtamongkol
Yupin
Y
Syhavong
Bounkong
B
Raoult
Didier
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000711:Anaplasmataceae Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001782:Blood Donors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000382:microbiology*; D005399:Fishes / Q000382:microbiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007812:Laos / Q000453:epidemiology; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D041101:Neorickettsia sennetsu / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010802:Phylogeny; D017747:Seafood / Q000382:microbiology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents