The Historical Case for and the Future Study of Antibiotic-Resistant Scrub Typhus.

ABSTRACT: Scrub typhus is an acute, and sometimes fatal, human febrile illness, typically successfully treated using chloramphenicol or one of the tetracyclines. Over the past several years, descriptions of strains of Orientia tsutsugamushi with reduced susceptibility to antibiotics have appeared. Because case-fatality ratios approached 50% during the pre-antibiotic era, antibiotic-resistant scrub typhus is concerning. Herein, we review the data on resistant scrub typhus, describe how the theoretical existence of such resistance is affected by interpretation of treatment outcomes, and propose a plan to further identify whether true drug resistance is present and how to deal with drug resistance if it has evolved. Limited resistance is not unambiguous, if present, and antibiotic resistance in scrub t

SUBMITTER: Kelly DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6082054 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature