Typhus Group Rickettsiosis, Germany, 2010–20171

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Rauch, Jessica ; Eisermann, Philip ; Noack, Bernd ; Mehlhoop, Ute ; Muntau, Birgit ; Schäfer, Johannes ; Tappe, Dennis
• Description:
  Typhus group rickettsiosis is caused by the vectorborne bacteria Rickettsia typhi and R. prowazekii. R. typhi, which causes murine typhus, the less severe endemic form of typhus, is transmitted by fleas; R. prowazekii, which causes the severe epidemic form of typhus, is transmitted by body lice. To examine the immunology of human infection with typhus group rickettsiae, we retrospectively reviewed clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory changes, and travel destinations of 28 patients who had typhus group rickettsiosis diagnosed by the German Reference Center for Tropical Pathogens, Hamburg, Germany, during 2010-2017. Immunofluorescence assays of follow-up serum samples indicated simultaneous seroconversion of IgM, IgA, and IgG or concurrence in the first serum sample. Cytokine levels peaked during the second week of infection, coinciding with organ dysfunction and seroconversion. For 3 patients, R. typhi was detected by species-specific nested quantitative PCR. For all 28 patients, R. typhi was the most likely causative pathogen.
• Subjects:
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Exanthema
  • Female
  • Global Health
  • History, 21St Century
  More +
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 24(7):1213-1220.
• Pubmed ID:
  29912688
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6038764
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Genre:
  Historical Article
• Place as Subject:
  Germany
• Volume:
  24
• Issue:
  7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/56954/cdc_56954_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.17 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:c3b444f504949a9d225d56857524067cafbd53330001c17ca94c1afeb4da6168