title: Field assessment of Orientia tsutsugamushi infection in small mammals and its association with the occurrence of human scrub typhus in Taiwan.
abstract: We conducted an extensive study in Taiwan of Orientia tsutsugamushi (OT) infection in small wild mammals. Field trapping was carried out at six districts in eastern and western Taiwan as well as various offshore islands during the period 2006-2010. A total of 1061 specimens representing 11 rodent species were captured. The presence of OT infection was assessed by indirect immunofluorescence assay and polymerase chain reaction assays of 56-kDa type-specific antigen gene. The chigger infestation rate among the animals was 35% (371/1061). Among these, OT was detected in 64% (238/371) of the chiggers from the infested animals and in the spleens from 273 (34.3%) of 797 animals. Excluding animals in the Suncus murinus group, the antibody positive rate of scrub typhus was 69.1% (477 of 690 of serum samples). The prevalence of OT infection in animals from areas with a low incidence of human cases of scrub typhus was significantly lower than that in rodents obtained from regions with a high incidence of human cases of the disease (44.4%±4.0% vs. 71.2%±9.7%, p<0.001). In Taiwan, the prevalence of OT infection in wild rodents is considerably high and appears to correlate positively with the occurrence of scrub typhus in humans.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pey-Ru
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Hui
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Chi
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Ching
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Der
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pei-Yi
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yao-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: jeffwtliu@yahoo.com.tw.
authors.forename: Wen-Tssann
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008924:Mite Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012376:Rodent Diseases; D012377:Rodentia / Q000382:microbiology*; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014324:Trombiculidae / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial
keywords: Orientia tsutsugamushi; Prevalence; Rodent; Scrub typhus