About Scrub Typhus:

• It is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi.
• It is transmitted through infected mites.
• Symptoms
  • The symptoms typically include fever, headache, body ache and sometimes a rash.
  • In severe cases, the infection can lead to respiratory distress, brain and lung inflammation, kidney failure and multi-organ failure, ultimately resulting in death.
• Several factors like vector abundance, climatic factors, exposures like farming and owning domestic animals, outdoor activities and sanitation, affect its prevalence.
• This disease is more prevalent in cooler months.
• In Northeast India, cases of scrub typhus occur from July to November in Manipur, July to October in Sikkim and September to November in Darjeeling.
• It will not spread from person to person.
• Treatment: Scrub typhus should be treated with the antibiotic doxycycline. Doxycycline can be used in persons of any age.
• There is no vaccine available for this disease.

Key facts about Typhus fever

• Typhus fevers are a group of diseases caused by bacteria that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus.
  • Epidemic typhus: It is caused due to Rickettsia prowazeki and it is spread to people through contact with infected body lice. 
  • Scrub typhusis: It caused due to Orientia tsutsugamushi and spread by chiggers.
  • Murine typhus: It is caused due to Rickettsia typhi spread by fleas. It occurs in tropical and subtropical climates around the world