title: Geographical Assessment of Rickettsioses in Indonesia.
abstract: To expand the documentation of rickettsioses in Indonesia, we conducted an ectoparasite and small mammal investigation involving four major islands: Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan. Coastal and highland regions on each island surveyed were chosen to represent different ecologies in Indonesia. Indication of the presence of Rickettsia spp. was evident in all areas sampled. Typhus group rickettsiae-specific antibodies had significantly higher prevalence among small mammals captured in Java compared to the other islands surveyed (78% in coastal and 50% in highland regions) and the prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae-specific antibodies was significantly higher in Kalimantan than the other islands investigated. Hosts and vectors were restricted by Rickettsia spp. but not by coastal or highland regions. Our findings expand the range in which rickettsial pathogens have been documented within the Indonesian archipelago and point to a significant risk to human health.
authors.affiliation: 1 United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia .
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Widjaja
authors.affiliation: 1 United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia .
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: 1 United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia .
authors.forename: Imelda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Winoto
authors.affiliation: 1 United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia .
authors.forename: Arik
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farzeli
authors.affiliation: 1 United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia .
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Stoops
authors.affiliation: 1 United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia .
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Barbara
authors.affiliation: 2 Naval Medical Research Center , Silver Spring, Maryland.
authors.forename: Allen L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: 1 United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia .
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Blair
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008322:Mammals; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial
keywords: Hosts; Indonesia; Orientia tsutsugamushi; Rickettsia; Vectors