Steady rise in Scrub Typhus cases triggers concern in Sundargarh; total mounts to 211

Scrub Typhus continues to spread its tentacle in Western Odisha. As many as five more Scrub Typhus positive cases were detected on Friday in the district.

With the addition of fresh cases, the Scrub Typhus tally in Sundargarh has increased to 211 so far this year, informed the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of Sundargarh Dr Kanhu Charan Nayak.

Among the infected patients in the district, 10 are from outside the State, and nine are from other districts.

The mite-borne bacterial disease has been on a steady rise in western Odisha, triggering concerns. It has become a huge challenge for the State Health Department and the district administration to curb the highly infectious disease which is spreading rapidly.

Though the Health Department and the district administration are taking various measures to sensitise people about the highly infectious disease, there seems to be no control over the infection rate. People in rural areas of the district seem to be in oblivion about the causes of the infection.

Scrub Typhus like many other bacterial diseases can be diagnosed in the laboratory with serology and PCR tests. No vaccine exists for this disease, however, antibiotic treatment preferably with Doxycycline is generally recommended.