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Serologic Survey of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis on Hainan Island of China
Author(s) -
HuiMin Feng,
TianSheng Chen,
BiHu Lin,
YinZi Lin,
PengFei Wang,
QunHao Su,
HaiBo Xia,
Kumano Keiko,
Uchida Takahiro
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1991.tb01602.x
Subject(s) - rickettsiosis , spotted fever , serology , rickettsia rickettsii , biology , rickettsia typhi , antibody , rickettsia , rocky mountain spotted fever , titer , virology , scrub typhus , outbreak , murine typhus , veterinary medicine , immunology , virus , medicine , typhus
A serosurvey for antibodies to Rickettsia japonica was conducted on Hainan Island of China. Serum specimens were collected from 1,030 outpatients at hospitals in different parts of the island regardless of their diagnosis. Only two among 538 serum specimens collected in Baoting and Tongshi counties, located in the southern part of the island, were demonstrated to contain antibodies reactive with R. japonica at a high dilution. The specimens also reacted with R. rickettsii at the same titer as with R. japonica. These two specimens reacted with other pathogenic spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae to a lesser extent. On the other hand, the specimens were shown to possess antibodies reactive with R. typhi at a significantly lower dilution or were not reactive at all. The findings suggested the occurrence of an SFG rickettsiosis on Hainan Island. More than half of the serum specimens collected from patients with suspected rickettsial infections in the southern area were found to contain IgM and IgG antibodies to R. typhi , indicating a high incidence of murine typhus.