Orientia tsutsugamushi, which requires specialized facilities for culture, is a substantial cause of disease in Asia. We demonstrate that O. tsutsugamushi numbers increased for up to 5 days in conventional hemocultures. Performing such a culture step before molecular testing could increase the sensitivity of O. tsutsugamushi molecular diagnosis.
Keywords: Lao; Laos; Orientia tsutsugamushi; Rickettsia spp.; bacteria; blood culture; culture; diagnostic; hemoculture; molecular diagnostic; scrub typhus.