Rickettsial infections: A blind spot in our view of neglected tropical diseases

• Published in: PLoS neglected tropical diseases Vol. 15; no. 5; p. e0009353
• Main Authors: Salje, Jeanne, Weitzel, Thomas, Newton, Paul N, Varghese, George M, Day, Nicholas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 01.05.2021; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adverse events; Agricultural production; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial infections; Biology and Life Sciences; Care and treatment; COVID-19; Diagnosis; Disease; Diseases; Epidemic typhus; Epidemics; Evaluation; Farms; Fever; Illnesses; Infection control; Infections; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mountains; Murine typhus; Orientia tsutsugamushi; Poverty; Public health; Public health administration; Rare species; Regions; Rickettsial diseases; Rocky Mountain spotted fever; Scholarships & fellowships; Scrub typhus; Serology; Tropical climate; Tropical diseases; Tropical environment; Typhus; Vectors (Biology); Vulnerability; United Kingdom; Africa; India
• ISSN: 1935-2735; 1935-2727; 1935-2735
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009353

Rickettsial diseases are a group of vector-borne bacterial infections that cause acute febrile illness with potentially severe or fatal complications. These vector-borne diseases are prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide and disproportionately affect poorer communities but are scientifically underrecognized. Despite this, they are not included in the World Health Organization's list of neglected tropical diseases nor were they mentioned in Peter Hotez's recent reflections on "What constitutes a neglected tropical disease?" in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases [1]. Here we present the case that rickettsial infections, as an overlooked cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic losses in marginalized populations, should be recognized as neglected tropical diseases. We describe how this oversight is the result of a number of factors and how it negatively impacts patient outcomes. We then propose measures to address the neglect of rickettsial infections in both scientific research and public health interventions.