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Scrub typhus, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, is an endemic zoonotic infection transmitted by the larvae (“chiggers”) of trombiculid mites in what has been termed the tsutsugamushi triangle that extends from eastern Russia west to Pakistan and south to northern Australia. The primary reservoir is the vector, due to transstadial and transovarian passage of the rickettsia-like microorganism. Recently, unexpected cases of scrub typhus due to related Orientia species have been identified, one in the Middle East and the second in Chile. Now investigators have identified three cases of O. tsutsugamushi on Chiloé island in Chile.
Between January 2015 and February 2016, three individuals on the island developed acute illness characterized by high …