Kathmandu, September 3
At least 72 people have been tested positive for scrub typhus in Kathmandu. Health experts have warned that the number might increase till mid-November.
According to data provided by Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, 234 people have tested positive for scrub typhus from June to August 2019. The disease has been reported from Banke, Palpa, Kathmandu, Dhading, Morang, Chitwan, Kaski, Rupandehi, Dadeldhura, Kailali, Ilam, Kavrepalanchowk and Makawanpur.
From among the 234 cases, Kanti Children’s Hospital recorded 24 cases of scrub typhus in the same time period.
Scrub typhus, also known as tsutsugamushi disease, is an infectious illness caused by Orientia (Rickettsia) tsutsugamushi, transmitted to humans and rodents by the bite of the larva of trombiculid mites (chigger). The disease is transmitted from mites to rats and mice. The mites in their larval stage contract the disease organism by biting these rodents. The mites are both the vector and reservoir of the disease.
Infected chiggers are specifically found during the wet season in dense areas of scrub vegetation which is when the mites lay their eggs. Areas like forest clearings, riverbanks, and grassy regions provide optimal conditions for infected mites to thrive. The southern Tarai region of Nepal is a suitable environment for scrub typhus, said Anup Bastola, consultant tropical medicine physician at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku.
The disease is seen more in children as they are in close contact with mice and rats. They play outdoors and get inside bushes where there are mice and rats. This is how children usually come in contact with mites, said Baburam Marasini, former director at EDCD.
Female children are more prone to the disease as they usually wear clothes which expose skin. “Children also urinate in open spaces or in areas where there are bushes. This is how they come in contact with the mites,” added Marasini.
The eggs of the mites are dormant during winter, but they grow when they get favourable environment, according to Marasini. It is not only children, but human beings of all ages that are infected. It can cause death due to late presentation, delayed diagnosis and drug resistance, said Bastola.
The disease is seen in people who work outdoors, usually in the fields where there are rats and mice, said Bibek Kumar Lal, director of EDCD.
A version of this article appears in print on September 04, 2019 of The Himalayan Times.
KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Health and Population has recorded 118 new cases of the coronavirus infection on Friday, which has taken the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 16,649. Of the newly infected, four persons are from Province 1; 20 from Province 2; 51 from Bagmati Province; 13 from Gandaki Provi Read More...
People walk down the street with their umbrellas while it rains in Lalitpur, on Friday, July 10, 2020. Read More...
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Health Ministry, in its regular press briefing, shared the latest updates on coronavirus contagion from across the country, and government’s response to the health crisis. As of today, 275,951 tests through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method and 312,402 Rapid Diagn Read More...
KATHMANDU: The title track for the last movie of late Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput — Dil Bechara — has been released, on Friday. What is impressive about the song, in addition to Rajput's energetic on-screen presence, is the fact that it has been filmed in a single take. The late acto Read More...
KATHMABDU: Bollywood film director and choreographer Farah Khan has recalled choreographing Sushant Singh Rajput in Dil Bechara's title track, saying that the song was particularly close to her as she was choreographing her 'friend' for the first time while fulfilling her promise with director Muk Read More...
MUMBAI: India reported a record 26,506 new coronavirus cases on Friday as authorities re-imposed lockdowns in its most populous state and in an industrial hub, home to automakers, drug factories and brewers. The new cases pushed India's tally to nearly 800,000 cases, the world's third-biggest o Read More...
SOUTHAMPTON: West Indies moved within 45 runs of England's first innings total, with Kraigg Brathwaite's 65 helping the tourists to 159 for three at lunch on the third day of the first test at the Ageas Bowl on Friday. Resuming on 57 for one, Brathwaite and Shai Hope made steady progress for Read More...
LUCKNOW: Indian police shot dead on Friday a man who had been accused of ordering the killing of eight policemen when he tried to flee from officers who had taken him into custody after he surrendered, officials said. Vikas Dubey, who was on the run for over a week after he allegedly ordered the Read More...
