Scrub typhus

[Sonia]

Scrub typhus is related to rickettsial diseases and is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. It is spread by chiggers (mite larvae).

People with scrub typhus have a fever, chills, and a headache, followed by a rash several days later.
To diagnose the infection, doctors test a sample of the rash and sometimes do blood tests.
Scrub typhus is treated with an antibiotic.

The bacteria that cause scrub typhus, like rickettsiae, can live only inside the cells of other organisms. Scrub typhus bacteria live in mites (the host).
Scrub typhus occurs in Japan, Korea, China, India, and northern Australia. The disease is transmitted to people when they are bitten by a chigger (mite larva).