BHUBANESWAR: Days after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan sought intervention from his Health counterpart Mansukh Mandaviya on the recent outbreak of scrub typhus in Odisha, a central team on Saturday visited Sundargarh to review the situation in the district and its neighbouring areas. The district had first reported the disease in January.
The four-member team accompanied by two medical experts from the state visited some of the affected areas in the district and conducted a review at the office of the chief district medical officer. Besides stressing the orientation of all health professionals working in public and private sectors on scrub typhus management, the team directed the district health officials to take immediate steps like early diagnosis of the disease and provide proper treatment.
The team also advised intensifying awareness on the prevention aspects of the disease across the state. Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus, is caused by the intracellular parasite Orientia tsutsugamushi and spreads to people through the bite of infected chiggers (larval mites). The symptoms including fever, start around 10 days after getting infected. If the disease is left untreated, it could cause multiple organ failure leading to death.
Pradhan, in his letter to Mandaviya, stated, “The resurgence of scrub typhus cases in Odisha is alarming, with at least six deaths reported since September 1, primarily from the western parts of the state. The situation is serious in Bargarh and Sundargarh districts,” Pradhan wrote.
Stating there is an urgent need to act swiftly to contain the outbreak and provide immediate medical assistance in the affected regions, he had proposed that a central medical team, well-versed in treating infectious diseases, be immediately dispatched to Odisha.