'Scrub typhus easily curable if timely treatment'

KATHMANDU: Scrub typhus is easily curable with timely diagnosis and treatment and deaths caused by it were due to lack of awareness, according to health experts.

The number of scrub typhus patients has so far reached 78 across the country, with three deaths so far.

The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division has already established separate treatment centres for scrub typhus in the 16 affected districts.

"It is a type of fever and can be cured through general medicines and antibiotics, provided it is timely treated," Shukraraaj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital's Doctor Sher Bahadur Pun said, "The disease is common in summer."

Continuous fever, headache, sweating, pain around eyes, tiredness, rashes around the neck are symptoms of the disease. The patient may die for lack of timely treatment.

Pathology test for the disease is available at the National Public Health Laboratory, Teku.

Nepali officially confirmed the presence of the disease in the country last year. However, the disease is not human-to-human transmittable.

Scrub typhus is an infectious disease caused by the Rickettsia bacteria and is transmitted to humans from the biting of fleas, mites and lice.