Thursday, March 28, 2024

Scrub typhus: ‘Mystery illness’ plaguing kids in UP

A viral fever has killed around 40 people, including 32 children, over the past week in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. Over the past weeks, at least 68 people have died of ‘mystery illness’ in six districts located in the eastern part of the state, according to The Times of India.

The viral fever has been identified as Scrub typhus.

According to Firozabad Medical College, 210 children were admitted to the 300-bed facility. Residents and doctors from Kannauj, Etawah, and Agra were brought in to manage the situation.

It has been mainly reported in Firozabad, Agra, Mainpuri, Etah and Kasganj of Uttar Pradesh.The children were being tested for Covid and so far no patient had been found positive, reports Indian Express.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the affected region and said a team of experts from Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University would probe that the deaths, particularly of children caused by scrub typhus and ascertain the reason for outbreak.

Scrub typhus is a re-emerging Rickettsial infection. It is a vector-borne disease. Its onset is marked by fever and rashes and it affects the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, renal, respiratory, and gastrointestinal systems.

 An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) team was called to take stock of the situation.

India Today reports that there were scrub typhus outbreaks in Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Darjeeling in West Bengal during 2003-2004 and 2007.

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