What Is Scrub typhus?
A team of researchers from Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, and PGIMER Chandigarh found that an antibiotic combo is best for severe scrub typhus.
- Scrub typhus is a life-threatening infection caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi bacteria which is a major public health threat in South and Southeast Asia.
- It is spread to people through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites).
- Symptoms: The most common symptoms of scrub typhus include fever, headache, body aches, and sometimes rash.
- 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.
- Typhus fevers are a group of diseases caused by bacteria that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus.
- Epidemic typhus is caused due to Rickettsia prowazeki and spread by body lice.
- Scrub typhusis caused due to Orientia tsutsugamushi and spread by chiggers.
- Murine typhusis caused due to Rickettsia typhi spread by fleas.
