Chanyasanha C, Kaeburong K, Chenchittikul M, Sujirarat D
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol. 1998 Jun-Sep;16(2-3):119-25.
In Thailand, the epidemiological data on scrub typhus infection represents only "the tip of an iceberg" especially in malaria clinics where patients come to seek attention because of other febrile illnesses that may have initial clinical signs that are indistinguishable from malaria. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of antibody titers to Orientia tsutsugamushi, and its various strains, among patients at some malaria clinics in three western provinces of Thailand. The sample was represented by 200 patients from 6 malaria clinics in Ratchaburi, Petchaburi and Kanchanaburi provinces between June and November, 1994. Blood specimens were collected with their consent. Immunofluorescent antibody assays (IFA) were used for measuring IgM and IgG antibody titers for scrub typhus infection. The results showed that the prevalence rate for scrub typhus infection (IgM and/or IgG titer > or = 50) was 59.50% (119 cases). The immunofluorescent antibody response to various strains of O. tsutsugamushi showed that co-infections with the Karp, the Gilliam and the Kato strains were the most common (found in 68.10% of cases). Geometric mean antibody titers (GMT) were highest for the Karp strain, followed by the Gilliam then Kato strains. In conclusion, this study indicates that the prevalence rate of scrub typhus is not rare in these areas.
在泰国，恙虫病感染的流行病学数据仅代表“冰山一角”，尤其是在疟疾诊所，患者因其他发热性疾病前来就诊，这些疾病最初的临床症状可能与疟疾难以区分。本研究的目的是确定泰国西部三个省份一些疟疾诊所患者中针对恙虫病东方体及其各种菌株的抗体滴度患病率。样本由1994年6月至11月期间来自叻丕府、碧武里府和北碧府6家疟疾诊所的200名患者组成。在患者同意的情况下采集血液标本。采用免疫荧光抗体试验（IFA）检测恙虫病感染的IgM和IgG抗体滴度。结果显示，恙虫病感染（IgM和/或IgG滴度>或=50）的患病率为59.50%（119例）。对恙虫病东方体各种菌株的免疫荧光抗体反应表明，同时感染Karp株、Gilliam株和Kato株最为常见（在68.10%的病例中发现）。Karp株的几何平均抗体滴度（GMT）最高，其次是Gilliam株，然后是Kato株。总之，本研究表明恙虫病在这些地区的患病率并不罕见。
