Raising awareness of
Rickettsial Diseases
   Rickettsia.net is an online-platform for being a key communication pathway of the rickettsia research network
and for reporting cases of rickettsial diseases including disseminating information on rickettsial diseases
to multi-disciplinary researchers, health implementers, health policy makers, and general public.
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Threat Reduction Network on Rickettsial Pathogens

The threat reduction network on Rickettsial pathogens (TRN-RP) is a disease surveillance Threat Reduction Network (TRN) to mitigate the threat of rickettsial pathogens of security concern in Southeast Asia.

This network aims to identify and connect interdisciplinary expertise, convening an agile group to adapt to a wide spectrum of arising challenges and threats. The TRN-RP has set up an online platform which can be viewed at https://www.rickettsia.net, it is an open-access data platform. The objective of the online platform is to be a key communication pathway of the rickettsia research network and for reporting cases of rickettsial diseases including disseminating information on rickettsial diseases to multi-disciplinary researchers, health implementers, health policy makers, and general public.

If you would like to contribute the information on the total number of Laboratory-confirmed rickettsial disease cases & deaths/year or what all clinical support your institution can provide, you can contact us via email at rickettsia.net@tropmedres.ac .

TRN-RP Network Objectives

The network established and refined the following network objectives to guide the development of short and long-term projects and activities.

  • Convene multi-disciplinary researchers, health implementers, policy makers, and funding authorities to identify and prioritize Rickettsia research needs and gaps
  • Characterize the distribution and prevalence of rickettsial pathogens and their vectors in Southeast Asia to better understand and address the human and animal health burden using statistical analysis and other best practices for assessing the global burden of other neglected infectious diseases
  • Employ, monitor, and evaluate the consistent use of “gold standard” diagnostics and community accepted case definitions to determine if better standards are needed for detection in lab and clinical settings
  • Increase awareness for Rickettsia amongst at-risk populations, clinicians, laboratory staff, national decision makers for better prevention, detection and response

What are rickettsial diseases?

Rickettsiae are a diverse collection of bacteria that survive in the cells of mammals, including humans. Rickettsiae are zoonotic, meaning they can infect both animals and humans, and are often vector-borne, that is, they are transmitted from animal-to-animal or animal-to-human by ticks, lice, fleas and mites.

There are many different species of rickettsiae, with some of the most significant ones being Rickettsia typhi (murine typhus or endemic typhus fever), Rickettsia prowasekii (louse borne typhus or epidemic typhus), Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Mountain spotted fever), Rickettsia conorrii (Mediterranean spotted fever), and Orientia tsutsugamushi (scrub typhus). Rickettsiae are loosely grouped in to Typhus Group (such as R. typhi), Scrub Typhus Group (such as O. tsutsugamushi), spotted fever group (SFGR, such as R. rickettsii) and an intermediate group. Rickettsiae cause infections in humans that disseminate from the blood to many different organs. Symptoms of infection can vary from very mild and non-specific (such as a general feeling of being unwell, muscle aches and headaches, fever or chills) through to the appearance of rashes or a small sore called an eschar. More serious complications can occur if left untreated, and these may include problems with the heart, lungs, central nervous system and other organs, and may result in multi-organ failure and death.