PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “RICKETTSIAL DISEASES”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Epidemiology of rickettsial diseases.

Rickettsial diseases have a diversity of epidemiologic characteristics reflective of the variety of ecologic situations in which the obligate intracellular bacteria are transmitted to humans. For the spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae, Rickettsia typhi, R. tsutsugamushi, Coxiella burnetii, and the human ehrlichial agent, humans are a dead-end host who plays no role in the maintenance of the organism in nature. All rickettsioses exist as zoonoses. Moreover, all rickettsiae are found in infected arthopods, which generally serve as the natural hosts and can transmit the infection to the next generation of ticks, mites, chiggers, or fleas. From our anthropocentric viewpoint, Q fever aerosol infection from parturient animals and Brill-Zinsser disease ignited epidemics of louse-borne epidemic typhus are exceptions. However, silent cycles of C. burnetii in ticks and R. prowazekii in the flying squirrel flea may have maintained these agents in transovarial or enzootic cycles for eons before humans and their domestic animals arrived on the scene. Thus, the epidemiology of rickettsial diseases must be recognized as an unfortunate aberration of the rickettsial economy. Several excellent reviews of rickettsial ecology contain a wealth of useful information.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Diagnostic tests for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other rickettsial diseases.

Rickettsial diseases continue to confound physicians because of their usually sporadic occurrence and nonspecific clinical presentation. In past years, diagnosis was confirmed only during convalescence; however, newer, more widely available methods, such as antigen detection and improved in vitro cultivation, have enabled a diagnosis at a time when therapeutic decisions are made. Molecular nucleic acid-based techniques have also expanded the spectrum of etiologic agents and illnesses caused by rickettsiae.

Angiomatosis, Bacillary↗
PubMed1982

Rickettsioses: a continuing disease problem. WHO Working Group on Rickettsial Diseases.

The rickettsioses continue to constitute major health problems in many areas of the world. Unlike those diseases that are transmissible directly from man to man, the rickettsioses are closely associated with man's environment and are therefore difficult to recognize and require complex strategies for their control. This article is concerned mainly with means for recognition and surveillance of these diseases, since only with reliable background information can a reasonable strategy for prevention and control be developed. Clinical information, while helpful, is insufficient for the identification of rickettsial diseases and for their differentiation from other pyrexias. The need for laboratory support, particularly serological tests, is emphasized. The indirect fluorescent antibody technique (IFA) is at present the most broadly applicable to all of the rickettsioses under the circumstances that exist in problem areas.Therapy of the rickettsioses is based on the use of specific antibiotics, including the tetracyclines and chloramphenicol, but antibiotics should not be used routinely for prophylaxis. Immunization with a live attenuated vaccine is effective against outbreaks of louse-borne typhus. Experimental Q fever vaccines have also given protection against disease but side-effects have limited their use. Action against the arthropod vectors is also important and may consist of insecticide dusting of persons at risk (lice), dusting of rat burrows (fleas), treatment of dogs carrying ticks, or appropriate measures to reduce mite populations. Repellants are also useful against ticks and mites.

Arthropod Vectors↗
PubMed2000

Rickettsial diseases and their serological diagnosis.

Rickettsial diseases (typhus and spotted fever group rickettsioses, scrub typhus and Q fever) may pose a serious public health problem, namely when they are non-diagnosed or misdiagnosed. Although rickettsiae can be isolated from or detected in clinical specimens, serological tests still remain an indispensable tool in the diagnosis of rickettsial diseases. The complement fixation test widely used in the past is being replaced by other tests which make differentiation of immunoglobulin classes possible. Of these tests microimmunofluorescence is considered the test of choice followed by the latex agglutination, indirect hemagglutination, immunoperoxidase assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The last one is also suitable for seroepidemiological studies. Immunoblot analysis can be used to confirm the results of other tests. The use of the low-specific and low-sensitive Weil-Felix test should be reserved only for situations in which other serologic tests are not available.

Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed2004

Rickettsial disease: classical and modern aspects.

Rickettsial diseases have been reassessed in recent years since they represent an important field in today's medicine. New agents have been described: some are non-pathogenic agents and the others are associated with well-defined or peculiar clinical patterns. In addition, different species of rickettsiosis are found in relation to the geographic areas of the world. Some agents may be defined as variants of older diseases whereas most of the newly described forms of rickettsiosis represent distinct entities with unique epidemiologial and clinical features. Probably the main news regards the group of the spotted fevers. An additional new aspect is linked to the medicine of travellers and tourists. However, this aspect may not be significant for the rickettsial diseases in relation to other human illnesses, such as malaria. Therefore, an investigation into the geographical origin of patients has to enter our routine medical work.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The role of the World Health Organization in the control of rickettsial diseases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) pays great attention to the problem of rickettsial diseases. A network exists of Collaborating Centres for Rickettsial Reference and Research, which are designated by WHO. A WHO Consultation on the Laboratory Diagnosis of Rickettsial Diseases was held in 1987. In accordance with the recommendations of this consultative group, WHO first established The Project on Global Surveillance System for Rickettsial Diseases, with the immediate objective of obtaining reliable data on the global prevalence and distribution of rickettsial diseases. This information should contribute directly to the principal objective of reducing morbidity and mortality due to rickettsial diseases. An additional objective is to identify and characterize strains of pathogenic rickettsiae from various localities throughout the world. The final objective of the above study is to transfer the existing diagnostic technology to laboratories in developing countries. Under the auspices of this Project a diagnostic kit was developed for identification of antibodies with antigens of R. prowazekii and R. conorii in the indirect immunofluorescence test. About 20 laboratories in various countries are participating in this Project. Training courses have been organized for participants from countries in Africa and South-East Asia. The first stage of the Project will be evaluated in 1991 and, depending on the outcome of the first stage, a larger programme would be considered for subsequent years.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗