Siritantikorn Sontana, Sangkasuwan Vichai, Eamsila Chirapa, Singchai Chantra, Kantakamalakul Wannee, Puthavathana Pilaipan
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand.
J Med Assoc Thai. 2003 Jun;86(6):516-21.
Murine typhus and scrub typhus are important human rickettsial diseases in Thailand. Small mammals, including many species of rodents and shrews, serve as the reservoir host of rickettsial diseases. Rickettsia typhi can be transmitted to humans by fleas causing murine typhus, while infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi causing scrub typhus in humans is transmitted by chiggers. The prevalence of rickettsial infection depends on the geographic area. The seroprevalence of antibody to R. typhi and O. tsutsugamushi was studied in commensal rodents and shrews trapped in markets in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area (BMA). R. typhi and O. tsutsugamushi antigen prepared in the yolk sac of embryonated eggs were used to determine the specific antibody in trapped animals' sera by using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-anti rat immunoglobulins as a second antibody. Antibody to R. typhi was found in 25 (5%) of 500 sera tested and no antibody to O. tsutsugamushi was detected. R. typhi antibody titer ranged from 40-1280 and was found in Rattus norvegicus (4.2%), Rattus rattus (0.4%), Rattus exulans (0.2%), and Mus musculus (0.2%) trapped in 8 of 47 markets in the BMA. R. typhi antibody was commonly found in R. norvegicus. The authors concluded that murine typhus is an important rickettsial disease and R. norvegicus is an important reservoir species of rodents found in markets of the BMA.
鼠型斑疹伤寒和恙虫病是泰国重要的人类立克次体病。包括许多啮齿动物和鼩鼱物种在内的小型哺乳动物是立克次体病的储存宿主。鼠型斑疹伤寒立克次体可通过跳蚤传播给人类，导致鼠型斑疹伤寒，而感染恙虫病东方体导致人类恙虫病则是通过恙螨传播。立克次体感染的流行率取决于地理区域。在曼谷都会区（BMA）市场捕获的共生啮齿动物和鼩鼱中，研究了针对鼠型斑疹伤寒立克次体和恙虫病东方体抗体的血清流行率。用在胚胎卵黄囊中制备的鼠型斑疹伤寒立克次体和恙虫病东方体抗原，以异硫氰酸荧光素（FITC）抗大鼠免疫球蛋白作为二抗，来测定捕获动物血清中的特异性抗体。在所检测的500份血清中，有25份（5%）发现了针对鼠型斑疹伤寒立克次体的抗体，未检测到针对恙虫病东方体的抗体。鼠型斑疹伤寒立克次体抗体滴度范围为40 - 1280，在BMA 47个市场中的8个市场捕获的挪威大鼠（4.2%）、黑家鼠（0.4%）、屋顶鼠（0.2%）和小家鼠（0.2%）中发现。鼠型斑疹伤寒立克次体抗体常见于挪威大鼠。作者得出结论，鼠型斑疹伤寒是一种重要的立克次体病，挪威大鼠是在BMA市场中发现的重要啮齿动物储存物种。
