Scrub Typhus: Death Toll Rises to 5 in Nagpur

Scrub Typhus bacterial infections has killed nearly 5 people in Nagpur,India. Scrub Typhus also known as Bush Typhus is usually caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi.

The disease occurs when a Chigger Mite, a very tiny insect bites a person.

Thirteen patients have been affected so far and have been admitted at the GMC Nagpur, of those five people have died, and four out of the eight remaining patients are in critical state.

‘The first symptom is usually a small raised mark at the site of the bite, which later becomes a blackish spot called an �eschar� (scar). It is most often found near the groin, armpits, neck and in the external genital regions.’

Of the four patients who are critical, two people have had suffered severe kidney damage.

Scrub Typhus spreads at the onset of monsoon season and in some places in winter. They are found in grass and bushes. Immediate treatment is needed after the bite.

Scrub Typhus was reported first in Japan in 1899, and after that not, less than 30 lakh people in Russia had died due to this Chigger Mite during the First World War.

In India, it had been found in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and Vidarbha.

The disease begins to manifest itself approximately 10-12 days after the chigger bites. The first symptom is usually a small raised mark at the site of the bite, which later becomes a dried out, blackish spot called an "eschar" (scar).

It is most often found near the groin, armpits, neck and in the external genital regions. Fever may start abruptly, accompanied almost always by a severe headache, chills, muscle pain and cough. There may also be redness of the eyes, drowsiness, vomiting, and shin pain.

The presence of eschar is a valuable diagnostic clue to the physician, and it is present in approximately 50% of affected individuals.

Source: Medindia