Analysis compares scrub typhus diagnosis via IgM ELISA and rapid agglutination test, revealing implications for public health.
In the Asia-Pacific region, scrub typhus is a major public health concern. It makes one million people sick everyyear and poses a hazard to one billion people worldwide. Scrub typhus is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and,if left untreated, can cause severe multiorgan failure with a 75-80% case fatality rate. O. tsutsugamushi'santigenic heterogeneity permits reinfection and prevents generic immunity. Scrub typhus is a neglected disease,and the little epidemiologic data and other relevant public health information on the disease in its endemic areasshow that we still don't fully understand it. We studied the infection's clinical characteristics in 90 individualswho visited this tertiary care facility over a 16-month period. The ELISA's seropositivity rate was 11.11%,whereas the rapid test analysis revealed a rate of 22.22%. Scrub typhus was found to be substantially correlatedwith both eschar and animal exposure in this study. The PROGEN OXK antigen suspension (Weil-Felix) andthe InBios scrub typhus IgM ELISA kit showed a significant difference in scrub typhus diagnosis (p<0.05). Theresults of the quick agglutination test showed that the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, andnegative predictive value were 60.0%, 82.5%, 30.0%, and 94.28%, respectively. Reducing morbidity and deathfrom this condition will be greatly aided by raising awareness of it and managing it promptly.
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El-Ansari et al. (2025) studied this question.
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