Distribution of Rickettsia Tsutsugamushi in Organs of Leptotrombidium (Leptotrombidium) Fletcheri (Prostigmata: Trombiculidae)1
- 25 September 1975
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Medical Entomology
- Vol. 12 (3) , 345-348
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/12.3.345
Abstract
Microdissection techniques and direct fluorescent antibody staining were used to demonstrate scrub typhus rickettsiae in all stages of infected Leptotrombidium (Leptotrombidium) fletcheri (=Malaysian L. akamushi). Rickettsiae were detected in some gut and hemolymph samples from each stage of mite development. Unfed larvae had the highest and protonymphs the lowest numbers of samples positive for rickettsiae. The high incidence of rickettsiae in the salivary glands of unengorgcd larvae along with the low incidence in engorged larvae suggest that rickettsiae in the salivary fluid are the source of infection for the mammalian host. Fluorescent antibody examination of eggs and unfed larvae appears to be a practical method of screening field-collected mites for scrub typhus rickettsiae.Keywords
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