Decreased Prevalence of Orientia tsutsugamushi in Trombiculid Mites and Wild Rodents in the Primorye Region, Far East Russia

Abstract

The isolation of Orientia tsutsugamushi was attempted from 249 rodents and approximately 14, 000 trombiculid mites captured in the Primorye region, Far East Russia in 1993 and 1994, where high infection rates were recorded in both rodents and mites in the 1960s. However, no rickettsia was isolated from the samples. Low antibody titers against O. tsutsugamushi were detected in 7.1% of the rodents. These results indicate that the prevalence of O. tsutsugamushi in the Primorye region has decreased considerably in the past 30 years.