6 die of scrub typhus in Raj within a week

KOTA : Six persons of Rajasthan’s Hadauti region have died of scrub typhus in a week’s time. Three of the deceased were from Bundi, two from Jhalawar and one from Kota. Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus, is a disease caused by a bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi. It is through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites). The most common symptoms of scrub typhus include fever, headache, body aches, and sometimes rash. The deceased have been identified as Dhaniya Meena, 18, Ramratan, 54, Morpal, 18, Anita, 25, Jagannath, 50, and Gopal Bai, 76.

All the deaths were reported between August 13-19 and their cause was verified as scrub typhus by medical reports on Thursday. Meanwhile, nine more patients have been tested positive for scrub typhus in Hadauti region — three cases are from Bundi district, two each from Jhalawar, Kota and Ajmer districts and two cases from the Shyopur region in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

When asked, the chief medical and health officer (CMHO), Kota, Dr RK Lavania said that the test reports of the six deceased patients arrived after their death from the central testing laboratory at Government Maharao Bhim Singh Hospital. “We have sent teams for a survey of houses of the deceased patients,” he said. Dr Lavania admitted that there were negligence and delay in testing the suspected patients. He said that a probe will be conducted about the delay. Dr Lavania denied any link between encephalitis and the spread of scrub typhus in Hadauti region.

SCRUB TYPHUS IS A DISEASE CAUSED BY A BACTERIA ORIENTIA TSUTSUGAMUSHI. THE MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS INCLUDE FEVER, HEADACHE, BODY ACHES, AND RASH