Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses and Murine Typhus in a Malaysian Teaching Hospital

Kai Ling Kho; Fui Xian Koh; Harvinder Kaur Lakhbeer Singh; Hafizatul Anis Mohamed Zan; Anjanna Kukreja; Sasheela Ponnampalavanar; Sun Tee Tay

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.16-0199

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses and Murine Typhus in a Malaysian Teaching Hospital

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016 Oct 5;95(4):765-768. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0199. Epub 2016 Jul 11.

Authors

Kai Ling Kho¹, Fui Xian Koh¹, Harvinder Kaur Lakhbeer Singh¹, Hafizatul Anis Mohamed Zan¹, Anjanna Kukreja², Sasheela Ponnampalavanar³, Sun Tee Tay⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
³ Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. tayst@um.edu.my sasheela@um.edu.my.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. tayst@um.edu.my sasheela@um.edu.my.

Abstract

Limited information is available on the etiological agents of rickettsioses in southeast Asia. Herein, we report the molecular investigation of rickettsioses in four patients attending a teaching hospital in Malaysia. DNA of Rickettsia sp. RF2125, Rickettsia typhi, and a rickettsia closely related to Rickettsia raoultii was detected in the blood samples of the patients. Spotted fever group rickettsioses and murine typhus should be considered in the diagnosis of patients with nonspecific febrile illness in this region.

Publication types

Case Reports
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Animals
Female
Hospitals, Teaching
Humans
Malaysia
Male
Rickettsia / genetics
Rickettsia / isolation & purification*
Rickettsia Infections / diagnosis*
Rickettsia Infections / microbiology
Rickettsia Infections / transmission
Rickettsia typhi / genetics
Rickettsia typhi / isolation & purification
Tick-Borne Diseases / diagnosis*
Tick-Borne Diseases / microbiology
Tick-Borne Diseases / transmission
Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne / diagnosis
Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne / microbiology
Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne / transmission