{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T20:55:38Z","timestamp":1763499338392,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,15]],"date-time":"2017-04-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1492214400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Queensland Tick Typhus (QTT; Rickettsia australis) is a Spotted Fever Group (SFG) rickettsial infection endemic to Australia. It is an underreported and often unrecognized illness with poorly defined epidemiology. This article describes epidemiological features and the geographical distribution of QTT in hospitalized patients. Cases of QTT were identified retrospectively from 2000\u20132015 at five sites in Northern Brisbane through a pathology database. Included cases had a four-fold rise in SFG-specific serology, a single SFG-specific serology \u2265256 or an SFG-specific serology \u2265128 with a clinically consistent illness. Of the fifty cases identified by serology, 36 were included. Age ranged from 3\u201372 years (with a mean of 39.5 years) with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.1. Fifteen of 36 (42%) study participants had hobbies and\/or occupations linked with the acquisition of the disease. Seventeen of 36 (47%) identified a tick bite in the days preceding presentation to hospital, and reported exposure to a known animal host was minimal (25%). QTT infection occurred throughout the year, with half reported between April and July. Recent ecological and sociocultural changes have redefined the epidemiology of this zoonotic illness, with areas of heightened infection identified. Heightened public health awareness is required to monitor QTT disease activity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed2020010","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,18]],"date-time":"2017-04-18T11:22:04Z","timestamp":1492514524000},"page":"10","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Epidemiology and Characteristics of Rickettsia australis (Queensland Tick Typhus) Infection in Hospitalized Patients in North Brisbane, Australia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"2","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7262-7529","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adam","family":"Stewart","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Brisbane and Women\u2019s Hospital, QLD, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1223-3699","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mark","family":"Armstrong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Brisbane and Women\u2019s Hospital, QLD, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stephen","family":"Graves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Geelong VIC, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Krispin","family":"Hajkowicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Brisbane and Women\u2019s Hospital, QLD, Australia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Queensland QLD, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2014.10.012","article-title":"Distribution of rickettsioses in Oceania: Past patterns and implications for the future","volume":"143","author":"Derne","year":"2015","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory (2015, July 22). 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J."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"151","article-title":"Rickettsioses in Australia","volume":"Volume 1166","author":"Hechemy","year":"2009","journal-title":"Rickettsiology and Rickettsial Diseases"},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"65","article-title":"Management of rickettsial diseases and Q Fever","volume":"14","author":"Graves","year":"2013","journal-title":"Med. Today"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.1991.45.243","article-title":"Prevalence of antibodies to spotted fever group rickettsiae in dogs from south-eastern Australia","volume":"45","author":"Sexton","year":"1991","journal-title":"Am. J. Trop. Reed. Hyg."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"876","DOI":"10.1093\/clinids\/13.5.876","article-title":"Spotted fever group rickettsial infections in Australia","volume":"13","author":"Sexton","year":"1991","journal-title":"Rev. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.11646\/zootaxa.3816.1.1","article-title":"Ticks of Australia. The species that infect domestic animals and humans","volume":"3816","author":"Barker","year":"2014","journal-title":"Zootaxa"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"173","DOI":"10.1111\/imj.1957.6.3.173","article-title":"The challenge of north Queensland fevers","volume":"6","author":"Derrick","year":"1957","journal-title":"Australas. Ann. Med."}],"container-title":["Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2414-6366\/2\/2\/10\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:32:45Z","timestamp":1760207565000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2414-6366\/2\/2\/10"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,15]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,6]]}},"alternative-id":["tropicalmed2020010"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/tropicalmed2020010","relation":{},"ISSN":["2414-6366"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2414-6366"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,4,15]]}}}