Scrub typhus cases rising among children in western UP

Mathura: More than 60 children have been diagnosed with ‘scrub typhus’ in few western districts of Uttar Pradesh.

The disease has been reported to have killed 10 people including 8 children in Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah and Kasganj districts.

As per the US agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDS), scrub typhus is caused by a bacterium, orientia tsutsugamushi.

A person gets infected with the bacteria after being bitten by an infected chigger (a type of larval mite) which live off the skin of animals and humans.

The symptoms of scrub typhus include fever, running nose, head, body and muscle aches, rashes and enlarged lymph nodes.

CDS states that travel to bushy areas must be avoided as these are where the mites are mostly found. Clothing fully covering the body must be worn and clothes and other items must be treated with 0.5% permethrin to kill chiggers on them.