The percentages of IFN-α+ and TNF-α+ pDCs were found to be significantly lower in scrub typhus patients than in HCs (for IFN-α+ cells, median 1.0% versus 23.2%, P = 0.001; for TNF-α+ cells, median 2.8% versus 22.0%, P = 0.005; Figure 3B). Here, IFNA1 is linked to scrub typhus.