Typhus - India

Typhus – India

July 27, 2021
< 1 min read

July 27, 2021 – Four cases of scrub typhus reported in Himanchal Pradesh in Shimla. Cases were discovered in Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital Shimla. No deaths were reported. No deaths recorded in this source.

Scrub typhus is a bacterial infection that can be transmitted through bites from chiggers. According to the source, it is typically found in mountainous environments and populate where there are livestock. Symptoms experienced by patients include fever, difficulty breathing, jaundice, vomiting, nausea, joint pain, and shivering. Severe symptoms can progress to lumps on the body as well as skin redness. The source states that animal contact can result in transmission of the infectious disease, which is likely to be the case of the four infected individuals.

Officials state that general precautions such as spraying hospital bedding and clothing with permethrin and benzyl benzoate. Individuals who are suspected to have contracted the infectious disease are to seek immediate medical treatment to obtain early treatment.

Photo: cells infected with Rickettsia bacteria (red)

Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus (body lice), scrub typhus (chiggers), murine typhus (fleas) and tick-borne typhus.

The diseases are caused by specific types of bacterial infection. Epidemic typhus is due to Rickettsia prowazekii.

Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.

Prevention is achieved by reducing exposure to the organisms that spread the disease. Typhus has been described since at least 1528 AD.

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