Thumbnail Image
Project Title
SCRUB TYPHUS IN SOUTH AMERICA: EXPLORING THE CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN SOUTHERN CHILE
Partner Organisations
Principal Investigator

Filters

Reset filters

Settings
Now showing 1 - 10 of 13
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Scrub typhus risk in travelers to southern Chile

2019 , Thomas Weitzel , Gerardo Acosta-Jamett , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , Allen L. Richards , Martin P. Grobusch , Katia Abarca

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Scrub typhus: A new cause of acute undifferentiated febrile illness in Latin America?

2021 , Carlos Ramiro Silva-Ramos , Fernando de Castro Jacinavicius , WEITZEL, THOMAS , David H. Walker , Álvaro A. Faccini-Martínez

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Novel Vector of Scrub Typhus in Sub-Antarctic Chile: Evidence From Human Exposure

2021 , WEITZEL, THOMAS , María Carolina Silva-de la Fuente , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , Alexandr A Stekolnikov , Caricia Pérez , Ruth Pérez , Katia Abarca , VIAL COX, MARIA CECILIA , Gerardo Acosta-Jamett

Abstract The exposure of a research team to chigger mites in southern Chile allowed the first identification of a trombiculid species as vector and reservoir of scrub typhus outside the tsutsugamushi triangle, providing unique insights into the ecology and transmission of this recently discovered rickettsial infection in South America.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Molecular Description of a Novel Orientia Species Causing Scrub Typhus in Chile

2020 , Katia Abarca , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , Jenniffer Angulo , Ju Jiang , Christina M. Farris , Allen L. Richards , Gerardo Acosta-Jamett , WEITZEL, THOMAS

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Scrub typhus in Tierra del Fuego: a tropical rickettsiosis in a subantarctic region

2021 , WEITZEL, THOMAS , AYLWIN RAMIREZ, MABEL CRISTINA , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , Gerardo Acosta-Jamett , Katia Abarca

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Human seroepidemiology of Rickettsia and Orientia species in Chile – A cross-sectional study in five regions

2020 , WEITZEL, THOMAS , Gerardo Acosta-Jamett , Ju Jiang , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , Christina M. Farris , Allen L. Richards , Katia Abarca

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Marginalized mites: Neglected vectors of neglected diseases

2020 , WEITZEL, THOMAS , Benjamin L. Makepeace , Ivo Elliott , Kittipong Chaisiri , Allen L. Richards , Paul N. Newton , Andrew S. Azman

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Development of a New Genus-Specific Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assay for the Diagnosis of Scrub Typhus in South America

2022 , Ju Jiang , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , WEITZEL, THOMAS , Christina M. Farris , Gerardo Acosta-Jamett , Katia Abarca , Allen L. Richards

Scrub typhus is a potentially severe rickettsiosis, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi in the Asia-Pacific region. Recently, however, two distinct pathogens, “Candidatus Orientia chuto” and “Candidatus Orientia chiloensis”, have been discovered in the Middle East and South America, respectively. Since the novel pathogens differ significantly from O. tsutsugamushi, many established diagnostic methods are unreliable. This work describes the development and validation of a new quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay (Orien16S) for the detection of all known Orientia species. Based on a 94 bp sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (rrs), Orien16S recognized DNA samples from O. tsutsugamushi (n = 41), Ca. O. chiloensis (n = 5), and Ca. O. chuto (n = 1), but was negative for DNA preparations from closely related rickettsiae and other members of the order Rickettsiales (n = 22) as well as unrelated bacterial species (n = 11). After its implementation in Chile, the assay was verified, correctly identifying all tested eschar and buffy coat samples (n = 28) of clinical suspected cases. Furthermore, Orien16S detected Orientia DNA in trombiculid mites collected in endemic regions in southern Chile. The presented novel qPCR assay provides a useful tool for detecting Orientia and diagnosing scrub typhus from all geographical regions.

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Scrub Typhus in Continental Chile, 2016–2018

2019 , WEITZEL, THOMAS , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , Gerardo Acosta-Jamett , Ju Jiang , Allen L. Richards , Katia Abarca

View
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Geographical distribution and phylogenetic analysis of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato in northern and central Chile

2018 , Fabián E. Díaz , Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito , Javier López , Thomas Weitzel , Katia Abarca

View