--Total cases now 183: At least three more people on Tuesday tested positive for scrub typhus in Sundargarh district, informed Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Kanhucharan Nayak.
Eleven people were found to be scrub typhus positive a day back.
With the fresh addition, the total number of cases in the district now reached 183. Of the infected people, 10 patients were from outside Odisha and nine from other districts, the CDMO added.
In Sundargarh district, currently, scrub typhus test facilities have been made available at Rourkela Government Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital.
The Health Department has deployed ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) and Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) volunteers to spread awareness about the disease.
According to reports, at least seven people have died due to the disease in Odisha in the past few days. Six of the deceased hailed from Bargarh district while another person belonged to Sundargarh.
Scrub typhus infection spreads through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites). The common symptoms of the disease include fever and a black inflamed mark on the skin called ‘eschar.’
People who frequently visit farmland or forests are vulnerable to the infection.
“Scrub typhus is one of the tropical rickettsial infections. If left untreated, it can have fatal consequences. It is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and transmitted by the bite of the mite larvae or chiggers. It is a systemic illness and can present as a vasculitis-like infection. We appeal to the people to visit the nearest hospitals immediately after experiences various infections. It’s treatment process is very simple and the patient gets cured very early,” said Dr Basanta Choudhruy, a physician.