Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Commissioner of Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department G Veerapandian on Monday said nine people died across the state due to suspected Scrub Typhus disease.
He said that Scrub Typhus diagnostic tests are being conducted at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the state and samples are being sent for deeper genome sequencing tests in Guntur and Tirupati.
Scrub Typhus or bush typhus is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Orientia tsutsugamushi.
It spreads through the bite of an infected chigger (the larval stage of a certain type of mite). Its symptoms are high fever, headache and joint pain.
“No death has yet been officially confirmed due to Scrub Typhus and genome sequencing will determine the exact cause,” said Veerapandian, addressing a press conference.
The commissioner said over 1,500 positive cases have been reported in Andhra Pradesh so far, attributing the rise in the detection of these cases to expanded testing.
According to Veerapandian, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of cases nationally, while those in Andhra Pradesh remain comparatively lower than the neighbouring states.
Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) are deployed in all 26 districts to conduct epidemiological investigations where there are a high number of cases or abnormal deaths.
These teams will also review the state of residential surroundings and take required precautions.
Awareness campaigns are going on through Agriculture, Panchayat Raj, and other departments to educate the public on early detection, preventive measures, and to seek medical care promptly.
“An insect bite usually forms a black scab on the skin. Blood samples are collected and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) tests confirm Scrub Typhus rapidly,” said Guntur Government General Hospital (GGH) Superintendent Dr Ramana Yasaswi.
Other officials said that genome sequencing is required to confirm whether any death was caused by Scrub Typhus, crucial for understanding and preventing future cases.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
