A Use of 56-kDa Recombinant Protein of Orientia tsutsugamushi Karp Serotype in Serodiagnosis of Scrub Typhus by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay in Thais
Issued Date
2023-01-01
Resource Type
eISSN
24146366
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85146779296
Journal Title
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
Volume
8
Issue
1
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Vol.8 No.1 (2023)
Suggested Citation
Chankate P., Kalambaheti T., Kosoltanapiwat N., Tanganuchitcharnchai A., Blacksell S.D., Chantratita N., Leaungwutiwong P. A Use of 56-kDa Recombinant Protein of Orientia tsutsugamushi Karp Serotype in Serodiagnosis of Scrub Typhus by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay in Thais. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Vol.8 No.1 (2023). doi:10.3390/tropicalmed8010010 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/81973
Title
A Use of 56-kDa Recombinant Protein of Orientia tsutsugamushi Karp Serotype in Serodiagnosis of Scrub Typhus by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay in Thais
Author's Affiliation
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Scrub typhus is a mite-borne disease caused by a Gram-negative obligately intracellular bacillus, Orientia tsutsugamushi. The disease is endemic in the Asia–Australia–Pacific region, including Thailand. Scrub typhus generally manifests as acute undifferentiated febrile fever along with myalgia, rash, and lymphadenopathy. An eschar can be a valuable diagnostic clue, but this skin lesion may be missed in some patients. The disease symptoms resemble those of other febrile illnesses such as leptospirosis, typhoid, murine typhus, malaria, and dengue fever, making a laboratory diagnosis necessary for the definitive diagnosis. In this study, we expressed a recombinant protein derived from 56-kDa type-specific antigen of O. tsutsugamushi Karp serotype and tested its ability to detect and differentiate scrub typhus infection. IgM and IgG antibodies were determined in sera from scrub typhus (n = 92) and other febrile illness patients (murine typhus (n = 25), melioidosis (n = 36), leptospirosis (n = 42), and dengue (n = 35)) from Thailand. Sensitivities of 87.0% and 59.8% with a specified assay cut-off were obtained for IgM and IgG indirect ELISAs, respectively, with a specificity of 100% in both tests. The sensitivity was increased to 95.7% when a combination of IgM and IgG ELISAs results was considered. Our study suggested a potential of the 56-kDa recombinant protein for further development and evaluation for use in scrub typhus serodiagnosis.