title: Outbreak of scrub typhus in the North East Himalayan region-Sikkim: an emerging threat.
abstract: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness that is known to be endemic in the South East Asian countries and the Western Pacific region. We here report an outbreak in the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim. Patients with pyrexia of unknown origin were evaluated. They were screened by Weil-Felix test and the rapid immunochromatographic method. Samples that were positive by either Weil-Felix agglutination test or by rapid immunochromatography were confirmed by IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total 204 samples were screened. Sixty-three patients were confirmed positive among which 42 were male and 21 were female. Effective management and early administration of antibiotics will help prevent the complications and mortality associated with scrub typhus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Sir Thotub Namgyal Memorial Hospital, Gangtok, Sikkim, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gurung
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pradhan
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Bhutia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D012285:Orientia tsutsugamushi / Q000276:immunology; D012612:Scrub Typhus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012819:Sikkim / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007075:Immunoglobulin M