Morphological, molecular and MALDI-TOF MS identification of ticks and tick-associated pathogens in Vietnam.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been reported as a promising and reliable tool for arthropod identification, including the identification of alcohol-preserved ticks based on extracted leg protein spectra. In this study, the legs of 361 ticks collected in Vietnam, including 251 Rhiphicephalus sanguineus s.l, 99 Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, two Amblyomma varanensis, seven Dermacentor auratus, one Dermacentor compactus and one Amblyomma sp.

Prospective case-control analysis of the aetiologies of acute undifferentiated fever in Vietnam.

Acute undifferentiated fever (AUF) is frequently observed in tropical settings, but diagnosing the cause of AUF is often a challenge for local physicians and the physicians treating returning travellers. We conducted a case-control study in central Vietnam in 2016. A total of 378 febrile adult patients (AUFs) with a fever for ≤21 days, no evidence of localized infection and negative screening tests for dengue and malaria, and 384 afebrile adult patients (Controls) were prospectively enrolled.

Dual Genotype Orientia tsutsugamushi Infection in Patient with Rash and Eschar, Vietnam, 2016.

We report a dual genotype Orientia tsutsugamushi infection in Vietnam in 2016. The patient had fever, rash, and an eschar. The Kawasaki genotype was identified in the eschar specimen and Karp genotype in the whole blood specimen.

Use of eschar swabbing for the molecular diagnosis and genotyping of Orientia tsutsugamushi causing scrub typhus in Quang Nam province, Vietnam.

Background: Scrub typhus is a rickettsiosis which is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and occurs throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Molecular diagnosis of rickettsioses using eschar swabs has recently emerged, and may be very useful for the diagnosis of these diseases in tropical settings.

Methodology/principal Findings: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to detect O.