Scrub typhus: Here's everything you should know about mystery fever reported in UP

File Photo (Reuters)

New Delhi: Some of the districts in Uttar Pradesh including Mathura, Firozabad and Mainpuri have been witnessing a spike in cases of 'Scrub typhus', also known as bush typhus. It is a disease caused by a bacteria called 'Orientia tsutsugamushi' and spreads to people through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites). 

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most cases of scrub typhus emerge in rural areas of Asian countries like India, Indonesia, China and Japan. 

Signs and Symptoms of Scrub typhus

The CDC has said that the symptoms of scrub typhus usually begin within 10 days of being bitten. An infected person will have symptoms like fever and chills, headache, rashes, body aches and muscle pain. The symptoms also include a dark, scab-like region at the site of the chigger bite and mental changes ranging from confusion to coma.

A person with severe illness may also develop organ failure and bleeding.

Treatment of Scrub typhus

A person infected with scrub typhus should be treated with the antibiotic doxycycline. Antibiotics, notably, are most effective if given soon after symptoms begin.

This is to be noted there is no vaccine yet to prevent scrub typhus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed.