Investigating antimicrobial susceptibility of Rickettsia typhi

Background to the research project- Murine typhus is a global neglected disease and cause of fever, transmitted by fleas, that can cause severe disease. It is an important cause of febrile illness in Laos. However, there has been little research to inform treatment guidelines for this disease and there are very few data on antibiotic resistance of murine typhus. There have been reports from Laos of murine typhus antibiotic treatment failures. My approach- I plan to develop a test to assess which antibiotics are most effective against typhus bacteria grown from Lao patients' blood. I will investigate whether there is any evidence for drug resistance. I plan to study the bacterial genome by sequencing murine typhus genes to try to identify markers allowing us to predict antibiotic resistance. Expected impact- This study would improve our understanding of rickettsia antibiotic susceptibilities, and guide treatment recommendations.