Antibodies to Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia typhi, Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella henselae, Bartonella quintana, and Ehrlichia chaffeensis among healthy population in Minas Gerais, Brazil

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Rickettsial diseases except those belonging to spotted fever group rickettsioses are poorly studied in South America particularly in Brazil where few epidemiological reports have been published. We describe a serosurvey for Rickettsia rickettsii, R. typhi, Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella henselae, B. quintana, and Ehrlichia chaffeensis in 437 healthy people from a Brazilian rural community. The serum samples were tested by indirected micro-immunoflourescence technique and a cutoff titer of 1:64 was used. The seroprevalence rates for R. rickettsii, R. typhi, C. burnetii, B. henselae, B. quintana, and E. chaffeensis were respectively 1.6% (7 samples); 1.1% (5 samples); 3.9% (17 samples); 13.7% (60 samples); 12.8% (56 samples), and 10.5% (46 samples). Frequent multiple/cross-reactivity was observed in this study. Age over 40 years old, urban profession, and rural residence were significantly associated with some but not all infections rate. Low seropositivity rates for R. rickettsii, R. typhi, and C. burnetii contrasted with higher rates of seropositivity for B. quintana, B. henselae, and E. chaffeensis. These results show that all tested rickettsial species or antigenically closely related possible exist in this particular region.

Related collections

Most cited references 79

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Rickettsioses as paradigms of new or emerging infectious diseases.

D Raoult, V Roux (1997)

Rickettsioses are caused by species of Rickettsia, a genus comprising organisms characterized by their strictly intracellular location and their association with arthropods. Rickettsia species are difficult to cultivate in vitro and exhibit strong serological cross-reactions with each other. These technical difficulties long prohibited a detailed study of the rickettsiae, and it is only following the recent introduction of novel laboratory methods that progress in this field has been possible. In this review, we discuss the impact that these practical innovations have had on the study of rickettsiae. Prior to 1986, only eight rickettsioses were clinically recognized; however, in the last 10 years, an additional six have been discovered. We describe the different steps that resulted in the description of each new rickettsiosis and discuss the influence of factors as diverse as physicians' curiosity and the adoption of molecular biology-based identification in helping to recognize these new infections. We also assess the pathogenic potential of rickettsial strains that to date have been associated only with arthropods, and we discuss diseases of unknown etiology that may be rickettsioses.

0 comments Cited 176 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Serological cross-reactions between Bartonella quintana, Bartonella henselae, and Coxiella burnetii.

D Raoult, B. SCOLA YURRITA (1996)

The clinical manifestations of Q fever and bartonelloses can be confused, especially in cases of infectious endocarditis. Differential diagnosis of the diseases is important because the treatments required for Q fever and bartonelloses are different. Laboratory confirmation of a suspected case of either Q fever or bartonelloses is most commonly made by antibody estimation with an indirect immunofluorescence assay. With an indirect immunofluorescence assay, 258 serum samples from patients with Q fever were tested against Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana antigens, and 77 serum samples from patients with infection by Bartonella sp. were tested against Coxiella burnetii antigen. Cross-reactivity was observed: more than 50% of the chronic Q fever patients tested had antibodies which reacted against B. henselae antigen to a significant level. This cross-reaction was confirmed by a cross-adsorption study and protein immunoblotting. However, because the levels of specific antibody titers in cases of Bartonella endocarditis are typically extremely high, low-level cross-reaction between C. burnetii antibodies and B. henselae antigen in cases of Q fever endocarditis should not lead to misdiagnosis, provided serology testing for both agents is performed.