Volume 24, Number 11—November 2018
CME ACTIVITY - Synopsis
Rickettsia typhi as Cause of Fatal Encephalitic Typhus in Hospitalized Patients, Hamburg, Germany, 1940–1944
Jessica Rauch, Birgit Muntau, Petra Eggert, and Dennis Tappe
Table
Characteristics and results of microscopic and molecular analyses of patients with typhus during World War II, Hamburg, Germany, 1940–1944*
| Patient no. | Age, y/sex | Brain region | Frequency of typhus nodules | β-actin qPCR, Ct, round 1/2/3† | Rickettsia typhi-specific nested prsA qPCR, Ct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U/U | Medulla | + | 37.2/–/44.5 | – |
| Pons |
+++ |
–/–/35.7 |
– |
||
| 2 | U/U | Cerebellum | + | 39.1/37.3/39.6 | – |
| Pons | ++ | 37.1/34.7/37.2 | – | ||
| Cortex |
++ |
35.3/33.3/38.1 |
– |
||
| 3 | U/U | Pons | ++ | 37.3/–/38.1 | 23.8 |
| Cortex |
+ |
35.1/–/37.7 |
– |
||
| 4 | U/U | Medulla | +++ | –/–/42.5 | – |
| Pons |
+ |
37.8/–/35.4 |
– |
||
| 5 | U/M | Pons | ++ | –/35.9/– | – |
| Pons |
+ |
31.0/–/– |
32.4 |
||
| 6 |
U/U |
Medulla |
+ |
36.9/–/– |
– |
| 7 | 29/F | Cerebellum | + | 40.0/35.1/– | – |
*Ct, cycle threshold; qPCR, quantitative PCR; U, unknown; +, ++, +++, semiquantitative microscopic measurements (+, low; ++, medium; +++, high); –, negative result.
†From each brain region block, three 5-µm tissue sections were used for each round (n = 3) of extraction and amplification. The β-actin qPCR Ct of the respective round from which successful R. typhi DNA amplification was achieved is bolded.
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Page updated: October 15, 2018
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