September 15, 2023: A total of fourteen people have lost their lives after being infected by scrub typhus disease in India. Five cases have been registered in Odisha and the remaining nine death cases have been recorded in Himachal Pradesh.

Scrub Typhus which is also known as Bush Typhus is a bacterial disease spread to people after the bite of a mite called chigger. The disease causes scrub typhus fever.

Scrub typhus fever occurs in people exposed to areas such as forests, riverbanks, grassy areas, deserts, and rainforests.

According to medical, a sore on the skin (skin ulcer that becomes dark in the centre) appears on the site after the bite by the chigger. After the appearance of the ulcer, some of the symptoms may develop such as fever, headache, sweating, bloodshot eyes, rash, lung infection, vomiting, and diarrhoea. This is a seasonal type of infection and symptoms usually appear after 10-12 days of infection.

The Odisha Government and Himachal Pradesh are on high alert and have asked district health authorities to increase the surveillance for the disease in the states.