Scrub Typhus (The Mystery Fever)

By Avinash Kumar|Updated : September 21st, 2021

Uttar Pradesh is grappling with the outbreak of a mystery fever in a few western districts at a time the state has witnessed a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases. The infection was identified as scrub typhus after a health department team collected samples from a village in Mathura.

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Key Highlights:

The mystery fever has gripped parts of Uttar Pradesh and has claimed the lives of over 100 people so far. The mystery fever has been identified as scrub typhus. Cases of the viral fever have been detected primarily in the districts of Firozabad, Agra, Mainpuri, Etah, and Kasganj.

Firozabad is the epicentre of the outbreak.
Till 4^th September, over 400 children were admitted in district hospitals as the death toll reached 51.

What is Scrub Typhus?

Scrub typhus is also known as bush typhus. It is a disease which is caused by a bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi.
Scrub typhus is spread to people through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites).
Most cases of scrub typhus occur in rural areas of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India, and northern Australia.
Anyone living in or traveling to areas where scrub typhus is found could get infected.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of scrub typhus usually begin within 10 days of being bitten.
Symptoms includes Fever and chills, headache, body aches and muscle pain.
People with severe illness may develop organ failure and bleeding, which can be fatal if left untreated.

Treatment and Prevention:

Scrub typhus should be treated with the antibiotic doxycycline. Doxycycline can be used in persons of any age. No vaccine is available for the mystery fever.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered the launch of a state-wide surveillance drive from September 7 to 16.
The health officials have been directed to spray anti-larva and undertake fog drives in the areas where more than one dengue patient is found.

Note: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.
It was founded in 1911 as Indian Research Fund Association and was renamed as ICMR in 1949. Balram Bhargava is the current DG of ICMR.

Source: Indian Express, cdc.gov