Rickettsia

Rickettsial diseases are often undiagnosed because the treating doctor doesn’t consider it as part of the differential diagnosis, especially in Australia. A travel history is often helpful. For example, scrub typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi) is only present in northern, tropical Australia; returning sick from a southern African game park may be due to African Tick Typhus (Rickettsia africae), following tick bites.