There are lots of diseases that are caused by mites and tick, and Scrub Typhus happens to be one of them. Scrub Typhus is a fairly common disease in Asia, northern Australia, and the Islands of Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The infection is caused by the Trombiculid mites that transmit the infective organism. People suffering from Scrub Typhus often complain of fever, headache, generalized weakness, cough, and diarrhea. A severe disease might result in encephalitis and pneumonia as well. In this post, we will be covering 5 common queries about Scrub Typhus that people often have in mind.
1. What is Scrub Typhus?
Scrub Typhus (also known as Bush Typhus) is an infectious disease caused by an organism called Orientia tsutsugamushi, which is transmitted by the Trombuculid mite. The trombiculid mite lays eggs on the skin, which then hatch into the larva. The larva also contains the O. tsutsugamushi which it receives from the parent mite by a process called transovarial transmission, and these larvas inoculate the infectious organism into humans leading to the infection and presenting with signs and symptoms as I have already mentioned above. Some people often develop an eschar (which looks like a healed scab) on the inoculation site.
2. Is Scrub Typhus Curable?
Being an infectious disease, certain medications make Scrub Typhus curable and can often be treated at home if symptoms are mild. However, in case of severe disease, one needs to get admitted and treated in a hospital setup.
3. Scrub Typhus Blood Test for Diagnosis
Scrub Typhus Blood Tests that aids in the diagnosis of the condition are mainly serological assays. That means, these tests usually detect antibodies against the organism and include assays like Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Assay, Indirect Immunoperoxidase, and Enzyme Immunoassays. It can also be diagnosed by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), which works by detecting the genetic material of O. Tsutsugamushi in the blood.
4. Treatment for Scrub Typhus
A wide range of antibiotics is available for the treatment of Scrub Typhus Infection. The most commonly used antibiotics include Doxycycline, Azithromycin, and Chloramphenicol. However, in certain cases, the infection can be resistant to those medicines as has been reported in Thailand. In that case, Rifampin provides good results for the treatment of drug-resistant Scrub Typhus.
5. Food for Scrub Typhus Patient
Coming to the food that a Scrub Typhus patient can take, as such there is no restriction. The patient might be anorexic due to fever and myalgia, in that case, frequent small-sized meals of the regular food the patient usually takes should be encouraged.
Hope you liked the article. Got anything to share about Scrub Typhus or want to ask anything on the topic, then let us know in the comments.
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