All about scrub typhus, the possible reason for UP’s mystery deaths

Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad is reeling with the death of more than 50 people, many of them children, in the past month. While officials say the deaths are due to dengue, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) officials said that apart from dengue, scrub typhus and malaria were among the list of suspected infections. Deaths have been reported in other districts too.

An NCDC team left for Firozabad on Sunday to determine the cause of the ‘mystery deaths’. Quoting team officials, the TOI reported on Sunday that infections had been caused by a dengue outbreak. But, a state health official told the daily that “some isolated cases of malaria and scrub typhus have also been detected in the region”.

Also read: What is Nipah virus?

So, what is scrub typhus and how does it affect people. Let’s take a look:

What is scrub typhus?

Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus,  is a disease caused by bacteria called ‘Orientia tstsugamushi’,  also known as ‘Rickettsia’.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms begin within 10 days of being infected. Common symptoms are fever and chills, headache, body aches, and muscle pain, and a dark, scab-like region at the site of the bite among others. 

How is it diagnosed?

Blood tests and laboratory tests can determine the presence of the bacterium that cause scrub typhus.

What is the treatment?

Scrub typhus is commonly treated with the antibiotic doxycycline.

How does it spread?

It typically spread to people through the bites of infected mites. Scrub typhus occurs in rural areas of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India, and northern Australia, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

What is the mortality rate?

Mortality rates ranging from below 1 % to 50 %. 

Apart from Firozabad, several districts of western Uttar Pradesh are on alert as the aggressive form of fever has been reported from other districts too. The cases have been reported mainly from Agra, Mathura, Mainpuri, Firozabad, Etah and Kasganj. Firozabad is said to be the worst-affected with more than 130 children are admitted in hospitals, many of them critical.