infectious diseases
Scrub Typhus
Introduction
Scrub typhus is a mite-borne disease caused byOrientia tsutsugamushi(formerlyRickettsia tsutsugamushi). Symptoms are fever, a primary lesion, a macular rash, and lymphadenopathy. (See also Overview of Rickettsial and Related Infections .) Scrub typhus is related to rickettsial diseases. O. tsutsugamushiis transmitted by trombiculid mite larvae (chiggers), which feed on forest and rural rodents, including rats, voles, and field mice. Human infection also follows a chigger bite. The mites are both the vector and the natural reservoir forO. tsutsugamushi. Scrub typhus is endemic in an area of Asia-Pacific bounded by Japan, Korea, China, India, and northern Australia. 