Orientia

A member of the bacterial family Rickettsiae.

- O. tsutsugamushi the only member of its genus, this species is the causative agent of scrub typhus, transmitted by mites; formerly called Rickettsia tsutsugamushi.

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Ori·en·tia (or″e-enґshe-ə) [L. oriens east] a genus of bacteria of the family Rickettsiaceae that includes organisms formerly classified in the genus Rickettsia. It comprises small rod-shaped to coccoid, often pleomorphic microorganisms. The cells have typical cell walls, possess no flagella, are gram-negative, and multiply only inside host cells. The type species is O. tsutsugamuґshi.