Six people die & 648 suffer from scrub typhus since January 2021 in Himachal

Six people have died and as many as 648 people of the state of Himachal Pradesh have been found suffering from Scrub typhus from January 2021 to October 10, 2021.The Department of Health conducted 4,382 tests for the scrub typhus out of which 648 were found positive, said a spokesman of the Himachal Health department Monday.
He said during this period maximum of 153 cases were found in Shimla, 132 in Bilaspur, 56 in Hamirpur, 63 in Kangra, 45 in Chamba, 37 in Solan, 25 in Sirmaur, 19 in Una and one case each in the Medical Colleges of Tanda and IGMC, Shimla. The spokesman advised people not to allow the growth of weeds and shrubs around our houses. He said the disease spreads through insects found in shrubs and grasshoppers. He has advised people to be alert from scrub typhus.
The spokesman said while dengue and chikungunya cases are found in urban areas, the same scrub typhus cases are found mostly in villages.
Importantly, the Scrub typhus is a bacterial infection and its symptoms are similar to those of chikungunya. He said in this, disease symptoms like headache, chills, fever, body ache and red rash appear on the body between the third to fifth days. The patient may have all or some of the symptoms of the disease. The duration of this disease is two to three weeks. This disease is spread through the bite of insects. Scrub typhus is spread by the organism. The spokesman said after getting infected, the patient feels very weak and some people also complain of nausea. Scrub typhus fever lasts from 7 to 12 days. In case of worsening of fever, the weakness increases further. The patient has to face fainting and cardiac problems. The rash becomes normal on the body within the fourth to sixth day of fever.
The disease is not dangerous for younger people, but can be fatal in 50 percent of patients over 40 years of age and also above 60 years of age. He advised the people that if there is an infestation of insects in the kitchen garden, then it can be controlled with the use of proper medicine. He said antibiotics, doxycycline and azithromycin are available in all government hospitals for the treatment of this disease.