Orientia tsutsugamushi in eschars from scrub typhus patients

To verify the value of eschars for the diagnosis of scrub typhus and to characterize genotypes of Orientia tsutsugamushi in patients, we examined eschars and blood specimens of 7 patients from Shandong Province, People's Republic of China, for O. tsutsugamushi by polymerase chain reaction targeting the Sta56 gene. All 7 eschars and acute-phase blood samples were positive, while no specific DNA amplicons were obtained from the 7 convalescent-phase blood samples collected after antimicrobial drug therapy. The findings indicate that patients' eschars can be used for detection and genetic characterization of O. tsutsugamushi during the convalescent phase.