Bacteria that causes scrub typhus, a deadly typhus disease spread by chigger bites, has been detected in the U.S. for the first time
according to a study Chiggers or larval forms infected with Orientia tsutsugamushi, the bacterium that causes scrub typhus, have been found in several North Carolina recreational parks, according to an investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .
Scrub typhus is a life-threatening disease infectious disease If left untreated, severe multi-organ failure and bleeding may result.this die The incidence rate of the disease is as high as 70% without medical treatment.
Symptoms of scrub typhus appear 6 to 21 days after being bitten by an infected chigger.
symptom:
- fever and chills
- headaches and body aches
- Scabbing at the site of a chigger bite, also known as an eschar
- A rash on the trunk that often extends to the arms and legs
- swollen lymph nodes
- cough
As the infection worsens, patients may experience muscle twitches, rapid pulse and drop in blood pressure.exist serious In this case, patients may experience confusion and coma. Doxycycline is usually used to treat this condition.
Most cases of scrub typhus infection come from rural areas of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India and northern Australia.
“We wanted to see if chiggers in the U.S. carried oriental bacteria. We didn’t have the diagnostic tools to test for this specific bacterium at the genus level in the past,” explain Loganathan Ponnusamy, co-corresponding author of the research paper.
The researchers evaluated chiggers picked up from 10 different state parks in North Carolina as they walked through black tiles on the ground. They then identified all the types of bacteria found in them.
“One park was 90% positive for the bacteria (nine out of 10 chiggers caught); the other was 80% positive (eight out of 10 chiggers caught). Other The park’s positivity rate is only 10 percent.” .
Chiggers not only infect humans or rodents through bites, but can also pass their eggs to the next generation of mites, the researchers said.
“We don’t know if this was a recent introduction to the state or if the bacteria has been here for years. We also don’t know if the infected chiggers found in North Carolina actually cause disease; that will have to be done in the future.” work,” said R. Michael Roe, co-author of the paper.
Published by Medicaldaily.com