title: Evaluation of clinical specimens for Rickettsia, Bartonella, Borrelia, Coxiella, Anaplasma, Franciscella and Diplorickettsia positivity using serological and molecular biology methods.
abstract: We monitored clinical samples from patients of different age groups from selected regions in Slovakia. Overall seroprevalence evaluated by immunofluorescence (IFA) using nine Bartonella, two Borrelia, six rickettsial (spotted fever and typhus group), two Coxiella, and one human granulocytic ehrlichiosis Anaplasma, Franciscella tularensis and Diplorickettsia massiliensis antigens, in rural and city populations of Slovak Republic, was found to be 32% positive for spotted fever group rickettsiae. Only five (10%) of the rickettsia-positive cases evaluated by IFA were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Rickettsia helvetica, Rickettsia slovaca, and Rickettsia raoultii infection appear to be prevalent in Slovakia. Furthermore, Coxiella burnetii, Borrelia and, for the first time, Bartonella elisabethae were confirmed in Slovakia.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sekeyova
authors.forename: Geetha
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: Oleg
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mediannikov
authors.forename: Marco Quevedo
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nyitray
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Blaskovicova
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique / Q000379:methods; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D018154:Slovakia; D055815:Young Adult