Project Title
SCRUB TYPHUS IN SOUTH AMERICA: EXPLORING THE CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN SOUTHERN CHILE
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1170810
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    Scrub Typhus in Continental Chile, 2016–2018
    (2019)
    WEITZEL, THOMAS  
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    ;
    Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
    ;
    Ju Jiang
    ;
    Allen L. Richards
      14Scopus© Citations 63
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      10Scopus© Citations 10
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    Novel Vector of Scrub Typhus in Sub-Antarctic Chile: Evidence From Human Exposure
    (2021)
    WEITZEL, THOMAS  
    ;
    MarĂ­a Carolina Silva-de la Fuente
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    ;
    Alexandr A Stekolnikov
    ;
    Caricia PĂ©rez
    <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>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.</jats:p>
      5Scopus© Citations 27
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    Scrub typhus risk in travelers to southern Chile
    (2019)
    Thomas Weitzel  
    ;
    Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    ;
    Allen L. Richards
    ;
    Martin P. Grobusch
      2Scopus© Citations 16
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    Molecular Description of a Novel <i>Orientia</i> Species Causing Scrub Typhus in Chile
    (2020)
    Katia Abarca
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    ;
    Jenniffer Angulo
    ;
    Ju Jiang
    ;
    Christina M. Farris
      1  1Scopus© Citations 95
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    Geographical distribution and phylogenetic analysis of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato in northern and central Chile
    (2018)
    Fabián E. Díaz
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    ;
    Javier LĂłpez
    ;
    Thomas Weitzel  
    ;
    Katia Abarca
      16Scopus© Citations 16
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    Development of a New Genus-Specific Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assay for the Diagnosis of Scrub Typhus in South America
    (2022)
    Ju Jiang
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    ;
    WEITZEL, THOMAS  
    ;
    Christina M. Farris
    ;
    Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
    <jats:p>Scrub typhus is a potentially severe rickettsiosis, caused by <jats:italic>Orientia tsutsugamushi</jats:italic> in the Asia-Pacific region. Recently, however, two distinct pathogens, “<jats:italic>Candidatus</jats:italic> Orientia chuto” and “<jats:italic>Candidatus</jats:italic> Orientia chiloensis”, have been discovered in the Middle East and South America, respectively. Since the novel pathogens differ significantly from <jats:italic>O. tsutsugamushi</jats:italic>, 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 <jats:italic>Orientia</jats:italic> species. Based on a 94 bp sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (<jats:italic>rrs</jats:italic>), Orien16S recognized DNA samples from <jats:italic>O. tsutsugamushi</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 41), <jats:italic>Ca.</jats:italic> O. chiloensis (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 5), and <jats:italic>Ca.</jats:italic> O. chuto (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 1), but was negative for DNA preparations from closely related rickettsiae and other members of the order Rickettsiales (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 22) as well as unrelated bacterial species (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 11). After its implementation in Chile, the assay was verified, correctly identifying all tested eschar and buffy coat samples (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 28) of clinical suspected cases. Furthermore, Orien16S detected <jats:italic>Orientia</jats:italic> DNA in trombiculid mites collected in endemic regions in southern Chile. The presented novel qPCR assay provides a useful tool for detecting <jats:italic>Orientia</jats:italic> and diagnosing scrub typhus from all geographical regions.</jats:p>
      1  1Scopus© Citations 14
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    Chigger Mites (Acariformes: Trombiculidae) of Chiloé Island, Chile, With Descriptions of Two New Species and New Data on the Genus<i>Herpetacarus</i>
    (2020)
    MarĂ­a Carolina Silva-de la Fuente
    ;
    Alexandr A Stekolnikov
    ;
    WEITZEL, THOMAS  
    ;
    Esperanza Beltrami
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Three species of chigger mites are recorded in our collections from four species of cricetid rodents on Chiloé Island (southern Chile, Los Lagos Region), an area endemic to scrub typhus (Orientia sp.). Two species are described as new—Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) eloisae sp. nov. and Quadraseta chiloensis sp. nov. One species, Paratrombicula goffiStekolnikov and González-Acuña 2012, is for the first time recorded on a mammal host (one species of cricetid rodent), and its distribution is extended to the Los Lagos Region of Chile. The genus ProschoengastiaVercammen-Grandjean, 1967 is synonymized with the subgenus Herpetacarus (Abonnencia)Vercammen-Grandjean, 1960, and four new combinations are established: Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) herniosa (Brennan and Jones, 1961), comb. nov., Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) insolita (Brennan and Jones, 1961), comb. nov., Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) macrochaeta (Brennan and Jones, 1961), comb. nov., and Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) antarctica (Stekolnikov and Gonzalez-Acuña, 2015), comb. nov.</jats:p>
      1  1Scopus© Citations 18
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    Marginalized mites: Neglected vectors of neglected diseases
    (2020)
    WEITZEL, THOMAS  
    ;
    Benjamin L. Makepeace
    ;
    Ivo Elliott
    ;
    Kittipong Chaisiri
    ;
    Allen L. Richards
      1Scopus© Citations 15  2
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    Canine seroprevalence to Orientia species in southern Chile: A cross-sectional survey on the Chiloe A Island
    (2018)
    Thomas Weitzel  
    ;
    Ju Jiang
    ;
    Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
    ;
    Constanza MartĂ­nez-Valdebenito
    ;
    Javier LĂłpez
      1  1Scopus© Citations 16