Chitwan, Oct 2 :The District Hospital, Chitwan has reported the deaths of two from scrub typhus while the number of infected has reached 99 since July 17.
District Public Health Office, Chitwan’s kit controller Ram KC said in this period, the scrub typhus test was conducted on 1,028 suspects and 101 were tested positive. Of those succumbing to the disease which is caused by bacteria called orientia tsutsugamushi one is female from Gaindakot and another is a male from Rautahat.
Those visiting the hospital in a search of treatment for the disease are from several districts including Chitwan, Tanahu, Gorkha, Makwanpur, Dhading, Rautahat and Bara.
The bacteria causing scrub typhus is transmitted to human through the bite of infected bush mite. Rodents and other animals are the carriers of this mite and its transporter to human. Besides, this chigger is found in bushes and scrub vegetation in rural areas. So rural people especially who work in farms and fields are at high risk of infection of scrub typhus.
The disease is, however, incommunicable to human to human. During the fiscal year 2074-75 BS (2017-18), the sample test had been conducted on 2,237 suspects and 410 had been tested positive for the disease in the district.
Similarly, the number of dengue patients in the district has so far reached 3,669. According to KC, dengue test was conducted on 11,927.
The dengue infection which had hit its peak in the second and third weeks of September has now slowed down. Two have died from the disease. Dengue is a viral disease caused by a mosquito called Aedes aegypti.
