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Review

A Review of Scrub Typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi and Related Organisms): Then, Now, and Tomorrow

by
Alison Luce-Fedrow
1,2,
Marcie L. Lehman
1,
Daryl J. Kelly
2,3,
Kristin Mullins
2,
Alice N. Maina
2,
Richard L. Stewart
1,
Hong Ge
2,
Heidi St. John
2,
Ju Jiang
2 and
Allen L. Richards
2,4,*
1
Department of Biology, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA 17202, USA
2
Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
3
Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
4
Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2018, 3(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed3010008
Submission received: 19 December 2017 / Revised: 9 January 2018 / Accepted: 10 January 2018 / Published: 17 January 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Past and Present Threat of Rickettsial Diseases)
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Abstract

Scrub typhus and the rickettsial diseases represent some of the oldest recognized vector-transmitted diseases, fraught with a rich historical aspect, particularly as applied to military/wartime situations. The vectors of Orientia tsutsugamushi were once thought to be confined to an area designated as the Tsutsugamushi Triangle. However, recent reports of scrub typhus caused by Orientia species other than O. tsutsugamushi well beyond the limits of the Tsutsugamushi Triangle have triggered concerns about the worldwide presence of scrub typhus. It is not known whether the vectors of O. tsutsugamushi will be the same for the new Orientia species, and this should be a consideration during outbreak/surveillance investigations. Additionally, concerns surrounding the antibiotic resistance of O. tsutsugamushi have led to considerations for the amendment of treatment protocols, and the need for enhanced public health awareness in both the civilian and medical professional communities. In this review, we discuss the history, outbreaks, antibiotic resistance, and burgeoning genomic advances associated with one of the world’s oldest recognized vector-borne pathogens, O. tsutsugamushi.
Keywords: Orientia tsutsugamushi; Orientia; scrub typhus; mites; chiggers; rickettsia Orientia tsutsugamushi; Orientia; scrub typhus; mites; chiggers; rickettsia

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MDPI and ACS Style

Luce-Fedrow, A.; Lehman, M.L.; Kelly, D.J.; Mullins, K.; Maina, A.N.; Stewart, R.L.; Ge, H.; John, H.S.; Jiang, J.; Richards, A.L. A Review of Scrub Typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi and Related Organisms): Then, Now, and Tomorrow. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2018, 3, 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed3010008

AMA Style

Luce-Fedrow A, Lehman ML, Kelly DJ, Mullins K, Maina AN, Stewart RL, Ge H, John HS, Jiang J, Richards AL. A Review of Scrub Typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi and Related Organisms): Then, Now, and Tomorrow. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2018; 3(1):8. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed3010008

Chicago/Turabian Style

Luce-Fedrow, Alison, Marcie L. Lehman, Daryl J. Kelly, Kristin Mullins, Alice N. Maina, Richard L. Stewart, Hong Ge, Heidi St. John, Ju Jiang, and Allen L. Richards. 2018. "A Review of Scrub Typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi and Related Organisms): Then, Now, and Tomorrow" Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 3, no. 1: 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed3010008

APA Style

Luce-Fedrow, A., Lehman, M. L., Kelly, D. J., Mullins, K., Maina, A. N., Stewart, R. L., Ge, H., John, H. S., Jiang, J., & Richards, A. L. (2018). A Review of Scrub Typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi and Related Organisms): Then, Now, and Tomorrow. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 3(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed3010008

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