Unravelling a new focus of spotted fever rickettsioses as causative agents of acute undifferentiated febrile illness in Odisha, a state in eastern coastal India.

Spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) infections remain largely under-investigated as causative agents of acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) in resource-limited settings. Few studies are available on the prevalence of SFGR infections in India, especially in eastern India. In a cross-sectional study conducted in 192 hospitalized adult and paediatric patients with AUFI, the frequency of SFGR using sequential PCR targeting genes encoding citrate synthase (gltA), 17 kDa lipoprotein precursor antigen (17kDa), outer membrane proteins A and B (omp A & omp B) was 6.