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Deadly scrub typhus on the rise in Chennai
Ekatha Ann John, TNN | May 6, 2013, 06.05 AM IST
CHENNAI: Serena, a 43-yearold resident of Guindy, was admitted to a leading hospital when her fever didn't abate even after six weeks on antibiotics. Two days later, she died of multi-organ failure, leaving doctors baffled.
A light brown mark near her underarm was what gave them a clue - scrub typhus. It was once considered a rare disease transmitted from animals to humans, but hospitals are seeing a spurt in incidence in the past three years. What doctors find even more unsettling is that cases have been trickling in at the peak of summer. Previously, it was prevalent just after the rains.
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CMC and Apollo Hospitals received 300 scrub typhus cases each last year . "Three years ago, the fatality rate was 14% to 15%. Now it has come down to 8% but even that is quite high. Many cases go undetected ," said Dr Varghese . The disease shows symptoms similar to dengue , typhoid and malaria . "Often , doctors look for symptoms of shrub typhus as a last resort , by which time it may be too late ," said Dr Balaramachandran , chief of intensive care , Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital .
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Ekatha Ann John, TNN | May 6, 2013, 06.05 AM IST
CHENNAI: Serena, a 43-yearold resident of Guindy, was admitted to a leading hospital when her fever didn't abate even after six weeks on antibiotics. Two days later, she died of multi-organ failure, leaving doctors baffled.
A light brown mark near her underarm was what gave them a clue - scrub typhus. It was once considered a rare disease transmitted from animals to humans, but hospitals are seeing a spurt in incidence in the past three years. What doctors find even more unsettling is that cases have been trickling in at the peak of summer. Previously, it was prevalent just after the rains.
...
CMC and Apollo Hospitals received 300 scrub typhus cases each last year . "Three years ago, the fatality rate was 14% to 15%. Now it has come down to 8% but even that is quite high. Many cases go undetected ," said Dr Varghese . The disease shows symptoms similar to dengue , typhoid and malaria . "Often , doctors look for symptoms of shrub typhus as a last resort , by which time it may be too late ," said Dr Balaramachandran , chief of intensive care , Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital .
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