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Source: https://kathmandupost.com/health/202...oblem-in-nepal
Scrub typhus emerges as a major public health problem in Nepal
Over 16,000 people were infected with the potentially fatal disease last year as the parasite spread beyond rural areas. Scrub typhus emerges as a major public health problem in Nepal
Arjun Poudel
Published at : June 27, 2025
Updated at : June 27, 2025 08:31
Kathmandu
Patients with high fever and severe body aches, headache, abdominal pain, and joint and muscle pain are common in the outpatient department of Patan Hospital—and some of them have of late been testing positive for scrub typhus.
“Patients infected with scrub typhus visit the outpatient department of our hospital regularly for treatment,” said Dr Samita Panta Acharya, medical director at the Patan Hospital. “The number of scrub typhus infections have risen over the years.”
Scrub typhus, or bush typhus, is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by the parasite Orientia tsutsugamushi, a mite-borne bacterium. It spreads to humans when bitten by infected chiggers (larval mites) found in mice.
Along with Patan Hospital, health facilities throughout the country have witnessed an uptick in the number of scrub typhus infections in the past few years.
According to data provided by the Integrated Health Information Management Section under the Department of Health Services, 16,597 people across the country were infected with scrub typhus in the fiscal year 2024-25. Of the total cases of infection, Lumbini Province recorded 4,322 cases, the highest number in the country, followed by Sudurpaschim province (3,746 cases), Karnali province (2,539), Koshi province (2,119), Bagmati Province (1,838), Gandaki province (1,725) and Madhesh province (308).
The number could be higher still, as all cases of infection do not enter government records...
Scrub typhus emerges as a major public health problem in Nepal
Over 16,000 people were infected with the potentially fatal disease last year as the parasite spread beyond rural areas. Scrub typhus emerges as a major public health problem in Nepal
Arjun Poudel
Published at : June 27, 2025
Updated at : June 27, 2025 08:31
Kathmandu
Patients with high fever and severe body aches, headache, abdominal pain, and joint and muscle pain are common in the outpatient department of Patan Hospital—and some of them have of late been testing positive for scrub typhus.
“Patients infected with scrub typhus visit the outpatient department of our hospital regularly for treatment,” said Dr Samita Panta Acharya, medical director at the Patan Hospital. “The number of scrub typhus infections have risen over the years.”
Scrub typhus, or bush typhus, is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by the parasite Orientia tsutsugamushi, a mite-borne bacterium. It spreads to humans when bitten by infected chiggers (larval mites) found in mice.
Along with Patan Hospital, health facilities throughout the country have witnessed an uptick in the number of scrub typhus infections in the past few years.
According to data provided by the Integrated Health Information Management Section under the Department of Health Services, 16,597 people across the country were infected with scrub typhus in the fiscal year 2024-25. Of the total cases of infection, Lumbini Province recorded 4,322 cases, the highest number in the country, followed by Sudurpaschim province (3,746 cases), Karnali province (2,539), Koshi province (2,119), Bagmati Province (1,838), Gandaki province (1,725) and Madhesh province (308).
The number could be higher still, as all cases of infection do not enter government records...
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