Evidence for infection caused by spotted fever group Rickettsia in Kyushu, Japan.

Of 50 cases that gave negative immunofluorescence reaction with Rickettsia tsutsugamushi among patients with suspected tsutsugamushi disease encountered in Miyazaki Prefecture during the last four years, three showed a significant rise in the antibody titer to Rickettsia montana, a species of spotted fever group. This paper reports evidence for the occurrence of the rickettsial infection of the spotted fever group in Kyushu, Japan.