Molecular epidemiological study of Scrub Typhus in residence, farm and forest habitats from Yunnan Province, China

PLoS One. 2024 Apr 16;19(4):e0301841. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301841. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

The number of people suffering from scrub typhus, which is not of concern, is increasing year by year, especially in Yunnan Province, China. From June 1, 2021 to August 15, 2022, a total of 505 mammalian samples were collected from farm, forest, and residential habitats with high incidence of scrub typhus in Yunnan, China, for nPCR (nested PCR) and qPCR (quantitative real-time PCR) detection of Orientia tsutsugamushi. A total of 4 orders of murine-like animals, Rodentia (87.52%, n = 442), Insectivora (10.29%, n = 52), Lagomorpha (1.79%, n = 9) and Scandentia (0.40%, n = 2) were trapped. Comparing the qPCR infection rates in the three habitats, it was no significant difference that the infection rate of residential habitat (44.44%) and that of the farm habitat (45.05%, P>0.05), which is much larger than that of the forest habitat (3.08%) (P<0.001). Three genotypes (Karp-like, Kato-like and TA763-like) of O. tsutsugamushi were found from Yunnan, China in this study.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • China / epidemiology
  • Epidemiologic Studies
  • Eulipotyphla / genetics
  • Farms
  • Forests
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Orientia tsutsugamushi* / genetics
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Rodentia / genetics
  • Scrub Typhus* / diagnosis

Grants and funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.U2002218, 81874274); Yunnan Health Training Project of High Level Talents (No.L-2017027); Doctoral Research Start-up Fee Project of Dali University (No.KYBS2018004); Co-funded Project of Cross-border Control and Quarantine Innovation Group of Zoonosis of Dali University (No. ZKPY2019302). Role of Funder statement: Y.Z.Z contributed to the study design and gave some useful comments and suggestions to this work.