A prospective study on Rickettsia infections in Central India

---

Original Article

Author Details : Debjani Taraphdar*, Ranjana Hawaldar, Sadhna Sodani

Volume : 11, Issue : 1, Year : 2024

Article Page : 34-37

https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijmr.2024.006

Suggest article by email

Get Permission

---

Abstract

Background: Rickettsial infections are under-reported in India. The actual disease burden has been underestimated as non-specific serological tests are mostly used to diagnose these infections.
Aim & Objective: The aim of this study was the detection of Rickettsia infections in clinical specimens by Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Materials and Methods: A study was established to analyse blood samples taken from pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) or undifferentiated fever cases. A total of 69 such patients, were referred/walked-in to our diagnostic centre, Indore, India between October 2021 and May 2023. The blood samples were collected in EDTA lavender (purple) top tube.
Results: Of the tested samples, 14 patients (20.3%) were positive for Rickettsia infection. Gender wise distribution revealed higher incidence (57%) of Rickettsial infections in male patients. Children were majorly infected (50% of cases); multiple infection was also noted in them, though severity was not high. Severe clinical manifestation including hospitalization was also noted in some patients.
Conclusion: Few reports are available from India on molecular diagnosis of Rickettsia infection. Early-stage molecular diagnosis will help to stave off and prevent serious complications. 

Keywords: Rickettsia, Central India, Real time PCR, Molecular diagnosis.

How to cite : Taraphdar D, Hawaldar R, Sodani S, A prospective study on Rickettsia infections in Central India. Indian J Microbiol Res 2024;11(1):34-37

This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.