There's another disease competing with dengue and malaria on the news network in Kolkata, called scrub typhus. It's not a contagious disease, but it's still a very serious infection that needs to be treated properly. There's a lot of people who are unnecessarily being led to believe this to be more ominous than it is. It's a disease, and no disease can be an asset to be proud about, but let's not misclassify it.
Scrub typhus is a disease that's caused by a bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi. It's spread by infected chigger mites, and it's most commonly found in Southeast Asia, northern Australia, and Japan. Trombiculid mite is actually the name for the group of mites that spread scrub typhus. Within this group, the specific mite that spreads scrub typhus is called Leptotrombidium deliense. These mites are tiny, they're less than 1 mm long, and they can only be seen under a microscope. They live in tropical and subtropical climates, and they usually feed on small animals like rodents, birds, and reptiles. But sometimes, they bite humans, and when they do, they can transmit scrub typhus.
It was first described in Japan in the late 1800s, and it was studied extensively in the early 1900s. The disease is transmitted to humans when a mite larva bites them. The mites are usually found in areas with heavy vegetation, like scrubland or jungle, which is why the disease is sometimes called "scrub typhus" or "jungle fever".
The bacteria is spread by the infected chigger mite larva when it bites a human. Once the bacteria enters the body, it infects the white blood cells and starts to reproduce. This can cause a range of symptoms, including fever, headache, and muscle aches. The disease can be serious and even fatal if it's not treated properly. But with proper treatment, most people make a full recovery.
The good news is that scrub typhus is usually treatable with antibiotics. The most commonly used antibiotic is doxycycline, or azithromycin which are effective for people of all ages, unless they have resistance. If the infection is caught early and treated with doxycycline, most people will recover quickly. However, if the infection is not treated, or if it's treated too late, it can lead to serious complications and even death. The most common symptoms of scrub typhus include fever, headache, and muscle aches. In severe cases, it can cause respiratory failure, shock, organ failure, and death.
Scrub typhus is not transmissible between people. It's only spread by the bites of infected mites. This means that you can't get scrub typhus from another person. You can only get it if you are bitten by an infected mite. This is one of the reasons why it's so important to get treatment early, before the infection has time to spread and cause serious complications.
