Over 10 children admitted in hosp with scrub typhus infection

Kolkata: At a time when Covid infection is on the rise throughout Bengal, more than 10 children have been admitted to a city hospital with scrub typhus infection in the past three weeks.

A child from Jodhpur Park has been affected by scrub typhus whose condition has turned critical. He has been put under ventilation. Most of the patients are running a high temperature and many of them have various other symptoms which include vomiting. The disease is spread among people through the bites of infected chiggers (larval mites).

State health department has decided to procure extra IGM kits. Additional kits will be sent to 44 government hospitals. The Health department has already alerted the various district administrations to spread awareness among people so that the infection can be identified at the initial level.

The senior district administrative officials have also been asked to keep a tab on the situation. The districts where the maximum number of scrub typhus cases had been reported were Murshidabad, Bankura, Birbhum, Hooghly and East Midnapore.

Over 1000 scrub typhus cases had been reported across the state in January. The disease is spread among people through the bites of infected chiggers. Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus, is a disease caused by bacteria called Orientia tsutsugamushi and it commonly occurs in rural areas.