Rickettsial Diseases: An Urgent Need to Upgrade Diagnostic Facilities

The presence of rickettsial diseases in India has been documented in the subhimalayan region of the country. Mortality due to these infections is reported to occur in 1% to 30% of untreated cases. Diagnosis & surveillance of this disease is problematic due to the absence of reliable advanced laboratory techniques. This study was a retrospective analysis of Weil-Felix data collected from Janauary 2008 to December 2011. The number of patients clinically suspected of rickettsial diseases has been steadily increasing each year with the maximum cases seen in rainy season. The number of samples of Weil-Felix test with titres � 1:80 is highest with OXK and lowest with OX19. Though Weil-Felix test is inexpensive but it is seen that it has a low sensitivity. Our results indicate that Rickettsial diseases are a serious public health problem in our state, so we recommend that laboratory facilities be upgraded so that mortality and morbidity can be decreased by timely and accurate diagnosis.