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Rickettsioses in Australia
Author(s) -
GRAVES STEPHEN,
UNSWORTH NATHAN,
STENOS JOHN
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1374.008
Subject(s) - spotted fever , scrub typhus , q fever , rickettsia , subspecies , rickettsia typhi , typhus , rickettsiosis , rocky mountain spotted fever , biology , virology , murine typhus , ecology , virus
Australia, an island continent in the southern hemisphere, has a range of rickettsial diseases that include typhus group rickettsiae ( Rickettsia typhi ), spotted fever group rickettsiae ( R. australis , R. honei ), scrub typhus group rickettsiae ( R. tsutsugamushi ), and Q fever ( C. burnetii ). Our knowledge of Australian rickettsiae is expanding with the recognition of an expanded range of R. honei (Flinders Island spotted fever) to Tasmania and southeastern mainland Australia (not just on Flinders Island), and the detection of a new SFG species (or subspecies), tentatively named “ R. marmionii ” in the eastern half of Australia. This rickettsia causes both acute disease (7 cases, recognized so far) and is also associated (as a “ R. marmionii ” bacteriaemia) with patients having a chronic illness. The significance of the latter is under investigation. It may be a marker of autoimmune disease or chronic fatigue in some patients.