title: Scrub typhus in Uttarakhand, India: a common rickettsial disease in an uncommon geographical region.
abstract: Scrub typhus is a commonly encountered rickettsial disease of the Indian subcontinent. Humans are infected accidentally and the case fatality can be significantly high if the disease is not identified in time. We report nine cases of scrub typhus from the Garhwal region of the newly created north Indian state of Uttarakhand, a region not previously known to harbour the vector. Entomological studies are needed to study the density of the vector and to institute vector control measures in order to prevent this relatively benign, yet potentially fatal, clinical entity from spiralling into a major public health issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, HIHT University, Swami Ram Nagar, Jolly Grant, PO Doiwala, Dehradun-248140, Uttarakhand, India. sohadia@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Sohaib
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: Sanjiv Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.forename: Prashant
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Puri
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shirazi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C064828:Sta56 antigen, Rickettsia tsutsugamushi