Southeast Asia trip turns dangerous, 75-year-old Kerala man infected with rare disease

The patient’s health worsened significantly, leading to the need for ventilation and dialysis due to organ failure.
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Representative image
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A trip to Cambodia and Vietnam took a perilous turn for a 75-year-old man from Thiruvananthapuram when he contracted murine typhus, a rare infectious disease. He returned home with symptoms resembling malaria, scrub typhus, and dengue, headache, and body aches. Despite receiving symptomatic treatment, his condition deteriorated, prompting his family to seek care at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

The patient’s health worsened significantly, leading to the need for ventilation and dialysis due to organ failure. Diagnosing the illness proved difficult for doctors, primarily due to limited testing facilities in the state.

“The patient presented symptoms similar to malaria, scrub typhus, and dengue-fever, but all initial screening tests came back negative. Upon reviewing his travel history, we decided to test for Murine Typhus, but we couldn’t find the antibody test kit anywhere. Ultimately, confirmation came from a test conducted at CMC Vellore,” said Dr. Sujeesh R, Head of the Department and Senior Consultant at SP Medifort.

“The tropical Asian countries are frequented by the people here. So when they return with an unexplained fever, Murine Typhus testing should be done. The awareness is important to prevent complications,” he added. The patient has recuperated well and is likely to be discharged in two days. The disease caused by bacteria Rickettsia typhi through the faeces of fleas to the human beings can be life-threatening if not treated on time.

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