Scrub typhus: a re-emerging threat in India

Abstract

Scrub typhus is an acute infectious disease of varying severity caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi (formerly Rickettsia) and was originally identified in Japan in 1899. It is transmitted to humans by an arthropod vector of the Trombiculidae family. Humans unwittingly serve as hosts for this zoonotic disease. People of all ages, including children, are affected. While scrub typhus is geographically restricted to the Asia Pacific region, a billion people are at risk, and almost a million cases are reported each year.