{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T07:34:46Z","timestamp":1774596886951,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774569600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Scrub typhus, caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium\n                    <jats:italic>Orientia tsutsugamushi<\/jats:italic>\n                    (\n                    <jats:italic>O. tsutsugamushi<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), is an acute febrile illness. While neurological complications are known, hearing loss is an uncommon manifestation, and coinfection with\n                    <jats:italic>Epstein-Barr virus<\/jats:italic>\n                    (EBV) presents unique diagnostic and pathophysiological challenges. A 58-year-old woman presented with a 5-day history of high fever, severe headache, and constitutional symptoms. She reported transient, fluctuating bilateral hearing loss. Examination revealed characteristic eschars on her legs. Laboratory findings indicated hepatic impairment and systemic inflammation. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of cerebrospinal fluid detected\n                    <jats:italic>O. tsutsugamushi<\/jats:italic>\n                    and EBV. EBV serology profile (VCA-IgG+, VCA-IgM-, EBNA-IgG+) suggested viral reactivation. The patient failed to respond to initial beta-lactam antibiotic therapy but showed rapid and complete resolution of symptoms, including hearing loss, after initiation of doxycycline. At the 1-month and 3-month follow-up, audiological assessment confirmed normal hearing. This case highlights a rare presentation of scrub typhus with EBV coinfection involving fluctuating hearing loss. The dramatic response to doxycycline suggests this auditory symptom may be a reversible, immune-mediated complication of\n                    <jats:italic>O. tsutsugamushi<\/jats:italic>\n                    infection. Physicians should be aware of this potential manifestation in endemic areas. The immunological interplay between these pathogens warrants further investigation.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1750100","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T06:37:24Z","timestamp":1774593444000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Orientia tsutsugamushi and Epstein-Barr Virus coinfection presenting with transient fluctuating hearing loss: a case report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Yibo","family":"Zhai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Neuromolecular Biology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Miao","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Neuromolecular Biology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liniu","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xinsheng","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Junqiang","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Neuromolecular Biology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology","place":["Luoyang, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/qco.0000000000001135","article-title":"Neurological complications of scrub typhus","volume":"38","author":"Reba","year":"2025","journal-title":"Curr Opin Infect 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