Piengchan SonthayanonWirongrong ChierakulVanaporn WuthiekanunDirek LimmathurotsakulPremjit AmornchaiLee D. SmytheNicholas P. DaySharon J. PeacockMahidol UniversityQueensland HealthNuffield Department of Clinical MedicineUniversity of Cambridge2018-10-192018-10-192013-10-01American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Vol.89, No.4 (2013), 797-799000296372-s2.0-84885995205https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/31865Leptospirosis and scrub typhus are major causes of acute febrile illness in rural Asia, where co-infection is reported to occur based on serologic evidence. We re-examined whether co-infection occurs by using a molecular approach. A duplex real-time polymerase chain reaction was developed that targeted a specific 16S ribosomal RNA gene of pathogenic Leptospira spp. and Orientia tsutsugamushi. Of 82 patients with an acute febrile illness who had dual infection on the basis of serologic tests, 5 (6%) had polymerase chain reaction results positive for both pathogens. We conclude that dual infection occurs, but that serologic tests may overestimate the frequency of co-infections. Copyright © 2013 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.Mahidol UniversityImmunology and MicrobiologyMedicineArticleSCOPUS10.4269/ajtmh.13-0402