Determination of the vector species of tsutsugamushi disease in Korea

Original Article


Korean J Parasitol. 1991 Mar;29(1):87-92. English. Published online Mar 20, 1994. http://dx.doi.org/10.3347/kjp.1991.29.1.87
Copyright © 1991 by The Korean Society for Parasitology


Determination of the vector species of tsutsugamushi disease in Korea
H I Ree,I Y Lee and M K Cho^*
Department of Parasitology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, Korea.


Abstract
In order to determine the vector species of tsutsugamushi disease in Korea, chiggers were individually dissected, and internal contents were tested for Rickettsia tsutsugamushi organisms by means of indirect FA test, and each exoskeleton was mounted on slide for identification. Among 4,142 chiggers collected from 48 Apodemus agrarius at nine different localities during the period of July-November, 1989, 990 chiggers of 10 species of Trombiculidae were dissected and tested. Rickettsiae were confirmed in two Leptotrombidium pallidum larvae out of 447 tested, giving 0.4% of the infection rate. The chiggers of the other species tested were found negative.

Figures


	Fig. 1 Dissection of a chigger mite form preparing FA test slides and the chigger specimen.

Tables


	Table 1 Detection of R. tsutsugamushi antigen from internal contents of the chigger mites, by means of IFA test in 1989

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