title: Diagnosis of scrub typhus.
abstract: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness that, if untreated, can result in considerable morbidity and mortality. One of the primary reasons for delays in the treatment of this potentially fatal infection is the difficulty in diagnosing the condition. Diagnosis is often complicated because of the combination of non-specific symptoms that overlap with other infections commonly found in endemic areas and the poor available diagnostics. In the majority of the endemic settings, diagnosis still relies on the Weil-Felix test, which is neither sensitive nor specific. Other methods of testing have become available, but at this time, these remain insufficient to provide the rapid point-of-care diagnostics that would be necessary to significantly change the management of this infection by providers in endemic areas. This article reviews the currently available diagnostic tools for scrub typhus and their utility in the clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Medicine Unit I and Infectious Diseases, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Jeshina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Janardhanan
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trowbridge
authors.forename: George M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Varghese
mesh_terms: D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology
keywords: 56-KDa type-specific antigen; ELISA; Orientia tsutsugamushi; immunofluorescence assay; rapid diagnosis; scrub typhus