Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Patients with Scrub Typhus - Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China, 2012-2018

Yuehong Wei; Xiugang Guan; Shixia Zhou; Anran Zhang; Qingbin Lu; Ziwei Zhou; Jinjin Chen; Haiyang Zhang; Yang Ji; Baogui Jiang; Yang Yang; Zhicong Yang; Hao Li; Liqun Fang; Wei Liu

doi:10.46234/ccdcw2021.261

Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Patients with Scrub Typhus - Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China, 2012-2018

China CDC Wkly. 2021 Dec 17;3(51):1079-1083. doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2021.261.

Authors

Yuehong Wei¹, Xiugang Guan², Shixia Zhou^{2

3}, Anran Zhang^{2

4}, Qingbin Lu⁵, Ziwei Zhou², Jinjin Chen², Haiyang Zhang², Yang Ji², Baogui Jiang², Yang Yang⁶, Zhicong Yang¹, Hao Li², Liqun Fang^{2

3}, Wei Liu^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China.
³ School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
⁴ School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁵ Department of Laboratorial Science and Technology, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
⁶ Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health and Health Professions, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Florida, USA.

Abstract

What is already known about this topic?: Scrub typhus (ST) causes public health challenges in the "tsutsugamushi triangle" in the Asia-Pacific area greater than 13 million square kilometers, affecting an estimated one million people each year.

What is added by this report?: A retrospective study based on 4,501 hospitalized patients with ST in Guangzhou City, China, described the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, laboratory findings of ST, and determined the related factors and a predictive model for severe disease.

What are the implications for public health practice?: The current study provided updated knowledge that might enable public health policymakers to formulate appropriate measures to prevent ST and medical workers to perform targeted management to recognize and treat severe ST patients.

Keywords: Epidemiological and clinical features; Patients; Scrub typhus.

Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2021.

Grants and funding

The Natural Science Foundation of China (81825019 to WL, 81722041 to HL), the China Mega-project for Infectious Diseases (2018ZX10713002 to WL), the Science and Technology Plan Grant of Guangzhou (202102080035 to YHW), and the Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFC1200604 to LQF)