Wanitda WatthanaworawitPaul TurnerClaudia TurnerAmpai TanganuchitcharnchaiAllen L. RichardsKevin M. BourzacStuart D. BlacksellFrançois NostenShoklo Malaria Research UnitMahidol UniversityUniversity of OxfordNaval Medical Research CenterBioFire Diagnostics, LLC2018-10-192018-10-192013-08-01American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Vol.89, No.2 (2013), 308-310000296372-s2.0-84881513987https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/31894One hundred and eighty febrile patients were analyzed in a prospective evaluation of Orientia tsutsugamushi and Rickettsia spp. real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for early diagnosis of rickettsial infections. By paired serology, 3.9% (7 of 180) and 6.1% (11 of 180) of patients were confirmed to have acute scrub or murine typhus, respectively. The PCR assays for the detection of O. tsutsugamushi and Rickettsia spp. had high specificity (99.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 96.8-100] and 100%[95%CI: 97.8-100], respectively). The PCR results were also compared with immunoglobulinM(IgM) immunofluorescence assay (IFA) on acute sera. For O. tsutsugamushi, PCR sensitivity was twice that of acute specimen IgM IFA (28.6% versus 14.3%; McNemar's P = 0.3). For Rickettsia spp., PCR was four times as sensitive as acute specimen IgM IFA (36.4% versus 9.1%; P = 0.08), although this was not statistically significant. Whole blood and buffy coat, but not serum, were acceptable specimens for these PCRs. Further evaluation of these assays in a larger prospective study is warranted. Copyright © 2013 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.Mahidol UniversityImmunology and MicrobiologyMedicineArticleSCOPUS10.4269/ajtmh.12-0600