The first death due to scrub typhus has been reported in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla city, officials said on Friday.
A 91-year-old man from Panthaghati area died while undergoing treatment for scrub typhus in the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) here, they said.
Scrub typhus is an infectious illness caused by a mite-borne bacterium named Orientia tsutsugamushi. It spreads to people through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites). This leads to rashes, fever, headache, body ache and other problems.
The man, who was undergoing treatment after found positive for scrub typhus on August 2, died on Wednesday, the officials said.
Till now, 44 cases of scrub typhus have been reported at Shimla’s IGMC.
After one case of scrub typhus was reported in Hamirpur, the health authorities in the district have advised people to keep their bodies covered while working in the fields and visit nearby medical facilities in case of fever.
