Scrub typhus in Uttarakhand, India: a common rickettsial disease in an uncommon geographical region

Abstract

Scrub typhus is a commonly encountered rickettsial disease of the Indian subcontinent. Humans are infected accidentally and the case fatality can be significantly high if the disease is not identified in time. We report nine cases of scrub typhus from the Garhwal region of the newly created north Indian state of Uttarakhand, a region not previously known to harbour the vector. Entomological studies are needed to study the density of the vector and to institute vector control measures in order to prevent this relatively benign, yet potentially fatal, clinical entity from spiralling into a major public health issue.

Severe scrub typhus infection: Clinical features, diagnostic challenges and management

“…Scrub typhus is seen in several parts of South-East Asia including India [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] , Bangladesh [12] , China [13] , Taiwan [14] , South Korea [15] , Japan [16] and Northern Australia [17] . Although scrub typhus has been reported from isolated parts of these countries [2,5,9,13,14] , it is likely that this disease is ubiquitous.…”

“…Although scrub typhus has been reported from isolated parts of these countries [2,5,9,13,14] , it is likely that this disease is ubiquitous. The majority of cases are from the rural areas given that these mites thrive in those environments.…”

Quantitative and volume, conductivity and scatter changes in leucocytes of patients with acute undifferentiated febrile illness: a pilot study: Table 1.

“…Uttarakhand has two major divisions: Garhwal comprising seven north-western districts and the Kumaon division comprising six districts. TB is the major infectious disease; tropical diseases, namely, leishmaniasis 8 and scrub typhus 9 have been reported from the region only recently. There are regular outbreaks of AUFI mostly during and after monsoons.…”

Scrub Typhus in South India: a Re-Emerging Infectious Disease

“…Without early intervention, ST is known to cause serious complications and high morbidity; thus, awareness of this disease among physicians and availability of serological kits can contribute to the control of this rickettsiosis. A serological survey conducted in the 1970s revealed the prevalence of ST in few parts of India (1); however, outbreaks and cases of ST started to appear in several states during the last 10 years, some of which occurred in unanticipated areas (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). ST Of the 26 ST cases positive for IgM by ELISA, 9 were aged 21-30 years, 5 were aged 31-40 years, 7 were aged 41-50 years, 2 were aged 51-60 years, and 3 were aged 61 years or more.…”