Survival and Growth of Orientia tsutsugamushi in Conventional Hemocultures

Abstract

Orientia tsutsugamushi, which requires specialized facilities for culture, is a substantial cause of disease in Asia. We demonstrate that O. tsutsugamushi numbers increased for up to 5 days in conventional hemocultures. Performing such a culture step before molecular testing could increase the sensitivity of O. tsutsugamushi molecular diagnosis.

Keywords

• Orientia tsutsugamushi
• hemoculture
• blood culture
• Rickettsia spp.
• culture
• molecular diagnostic