OBJECTIVEIn order to find out the current situation of tick-borne spotted fever in the area of Changbai mountain, Jilin province.

METHODSIn this study, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed with primers R. rOmpA 190.70p and R. rOmpA 190.701n designed on the basis of rOmpA gene, which is specific for examining spotted fever group Rickttsiaes (SFGR). Six hundred nighty-three ticks were tested and a positive PCR product amplified from D. silvarum specimen (named JL-02) was cloned and sequenced.

RESULTSThe SFGR DNA was detected from D. silvarum, Haemaphysalis concinna with the positive rates were 53.81% and 7.41% respectively. Its nucleotide sequence of 587 bp rOmpA and derived amino-acids showed 100.00% similarity with nucleotide sequence of DnS 14 and 99.00% with DnS 28 from the Former Soviet Union according to the result of BLUST and CLUSTAL, which was differential from the DNA sequences of strains previously detected in China.

CONCLUSIONThe natural focus of tick-borne spotted fever did exist in the area of Changbai mountain. The DNA sequence of SFGR was similar to that of DnS 14, which was first reported in China.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; China ; DNA, Bacterial ; chemistry ; genetics ; Humans ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rickettsia Infections ; microbiology ; Rickettsieae ; classification ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

No abstract available.
Orientia tsutsugamushi* ; Rickettsia* ; Ulsan*

No abstract available.
Korea* ; Orientia tsutsugamushi* ; Rickettsia*

No abstract available.
Birds* ; Orientia tsutsugamushi* ; Rickettsia*

No abstract available.
Gangwon-do* ; Orientia tsutsugamushi* ; Rickettsia*

No abstract available.
Rickettsia typhi* ; Rickettsia*

No abstract available.
Antibodies, Monoclonal* ; Rickettsia typhi* ; Rickettsia*

No abstract available.
Antibodies, Monoclonal* ; Rickettsia typhi* ; Rickettsia*

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), scrub typhus, murine typhus and leptospirosis have been the principal acute febrile diseases in Korea for many years. To evaluate the seroepidemiologic patterns of the acute febrile illness, sera collected from 4,503 patients in 1997~1998 were examined for antibodies against Hantaan virus, Orientia tsutsugamushi and Rickettsia typhi by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFA) and macroscopic agglutination test for Leptospira interogans. Seropositive cases for Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, Leptospira interogans and Hantaan virus were 261 (12.4%), 242 (11.5%), 11 (0.5%), and 250 (11.9%) in 1997, and 415 (17.3%), 273 (11.4%), 16 (0.7%), and 357 (14.9%) in 1998, respectively. Male was affected more frequently by HFRS and leptospirosis while scrub typhus was more prevalent in female. Old age group was more susceptible to the acute febrile diseases. Most positive cases were occurred during October and November for scrub typhus, and during November and December for HFRS. These results showed similar patterns with previous epidemiological data obtained during recent several years, except the single scrub typhus epidemic in 1998, and implied that no significant changes occurred in ecologic system for acute febrile diseases in Korea.
Agglutination Tests ; Antibodies ; Ecosystem ; Female ; Hantaan virus ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Korea* ; Leptospira ; Leptospirosis ; Male ; Orientia tsutsugamushi ; Rickettsia typhi ; Scrub Typhus ; Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HIFRS), scrub typhus, murine typhus and leptospirosis have been the principal acute febrile diseases in Korea. To evaluate the seroepidemiologic patterns of acute febrile illness, sera collected from 2,423 patients in 1996 were examined for antibodies against Hantaan virus, Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, and Borrelia burgdorferi by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFA) and macroscopic agglutination test for Leptospira interogans. Seropositive cases against O. tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, Leptispira interogans and Hantaan virus were 192 (7.9%), 193 (8.0%), 12 (0.5%) and 324 (13.4%), respectively. Male was more affected in HFRS and murine typhus contrasting to scrub typhus and leptospirosis in female. Most positive cases occurred during October and November for scrub typhus, and during November and December for HFRS. These results showed similar patterns with previous epidemical data for recent couple of years, and possibly implied no significant changes occurred in ecologic situations for acute febrile diseases in Korea.
Agglutination Tests ; Antibodies ; Borrelia burgdorferi ; Female ; Hantaan virus ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Korea* ; Leptospira ; Leptospirosis ; Male ; Orientia tsutsugamushi ; Rickettsia typhi ; Scrub Typhus ; Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne