Scrub typhus, a rickettsial disease caused by Orientia spp., is transmitted by infected larval trombiculid mites (chiggers). We report the molecular detection of Orientia species in free-living Eutrombicula chiggers collected in an area in North Carolina, USA, to which spotted fever group rickettsiae infections are endemic.
Keywords: Eutrombicula; North Carolina; Orientia tsutsugamushi; United States; bacteria; chigger mites; parasites; scrub typhus; vector-borne infections.