A 62-year-old man has died of scrub typhus in Nepalgunj, taking the death toll from the disease in Salyan district of Nepal to ten, The Kathmandu Post reported on Thursday.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
The man, identified as Jit Bahadur Malla of Ward 4 in Darma Rural Municipality, died during treatment in Nepalgunj, according to the report. Salyan district has recorded 817 infections so far, with Darma Rural Municipality reporting the highest number of cases.
The outbreak in Salyan has been building for weeks. District health data reported earlier this month showed 413 people had tested positive by October 1 out of 2,233 tested, with women accounting for a majority of infections. Health officials say people who work in fields or spend long periods outdoors collecting firewood and grass face a higher risk, because scrub typhus spreads through the bites of infected chigger mites found in vegetation.
Source: Bishwa Khabar
10 deaths and 817 infections recorded in Salyan district. Darma Rural Municipality is the worst affected. By October 1, 413 of 2,233 people tested in the district had returned positive results.
The Karnali provincial government had already moved to contain the outbreak in Darma last month, when Chief Minister Mangal Bahadur Shahi directed officials to send additional testing kits, medicines and health workers, including doctors, to the affected area and to run health camps in the worst-hit wards.
Source: Ratopati
Scrub typhus is a bacterial infection that begins with fever and can turn serious if treatment is delayed. Health officials in the district have urged residents showing fever symptoms to get tested early rather than waiting at home.