Scrub typhus is an acute, febrile, infectious illness that is caused by Orientia (formerly Rickettsia) tsutsugamushi. It is also known as tsutsugamushi ...RegisterforWebinarScrubTyphusviewContributorSuggestState:openShareScrubTyphusWhatisit?Whyisitknownasscrubtyphus?Whatarethecharacteristicsofthecausativeorganism?Howisthediseasetransmitted?Istheoccurrenceofscrubtyphusoutbreaksseasonal?IncubationperiodofscrubtyphusClinicalsymptomsofscrubtyphusDiagnostictestsTreatmentAtPrimarylevelAtsecondaryandtertiarycareWhatprecautionsshouldbetakentoprotectyoufromscrubtyphus?RelatedlinksWhatisit?Scrubtyphusisanacute,febrile,infectiousillnessthatiscausedbyOrientia(formerlyRickettsia)tsutsugamushi.Itisalsoknownastsutsugamushidisease.ScrubtyphuswasfirstdescribedfromJapanin1899.Humansareaccidentalhostsinthiszoonoticdisease.Whyisitknownasscrubtyphus?Thetermscrubisusedbecauseofthetypeofvegetation(terrainbetweenwoodsandclearings)thatharboursthevector;however,thenameisnotentirelycorrectbecausecertainendemicareascanalsobesandy,semi-aridandmountaindeserts.Whatarethecharacteristicsofthecausativeorganism?Itisanobligateintracellulargram-negativebacteriumthathasalargenumberofserotypes.Thispathogendoesnothaveavacuolarmembrane;thus,itgrowsfreelyinthecytoplasmofinfectedcells.Becausetheyareintracellularparasites,theycanliveonlywithinthecellsofotheranimals.Eventhoughitisrecognizedasoneofthetropicalrickettsiosesdiseases,O.tsutsugamushihasadifferentcellwallstructureandgeneticcompositionthanthatoftherickettsiae.O.tsutsugamushiincludesheterogeneousstrainsclassifiedinfivemajorserotypes:Boryon,Gilliam,Karp,KatoandKawazaki.Differentiationofserotypesisimportantforlaboratorydiagnosis.OrientiatsutsugamushicanbecultivatedonL929cellsandstainedusingtheGiemsamethod.Howisthediseasetransmitted?Scrubtyphusistransmittedtohumansandrodentsbysomespeciesoftrombiculidmites(“chiggers”,Leptotrombidiumdelienseandothers).Themiteisverysmall(0.2–0.4mm)andcanonlybeseenthroughamicroscopeormagnifyingglass.Humansacquirethediseasefro