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Mizoram: Six die of Indian tick typhus

A

alert

Senior Moderator
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Mysterious-disease-kills-5-in-Mizoram/Article1-677637.aspx

Mysterious disease kills 5 in Mizoram
Rahul Karmakar/HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Guwahati, March 25, 2011First Published: 21:17 IST(25/3/2011)
Last Updated: 21:19 IST(25/3/2011)Share more...0 Comments Email print

A mystery disease has killed five persons in a remote tribal village in southern Mizoram. A forum for the tribe has rapped local authorities for delayed response to the epidemic-like crisis. Officials in southern Mizoram's Lunglei district confirmed the death of five persons at village Thanzamasora during the past fortnight. They suspect the cause of the disease to be acute respiratory infections including pneumonia, but are not very sure.

Thanzamasora is a Chakma tribal dominated village.

Underlining the seriousness of the issue, the Mizoram Chakma Development Forum (MCDF) on Friday sought Lunglei deputy commissioner M Zohmingthangi's intervention. It also asked the medical officers concerned to provide immediate medical facilities to prevent the epidemic from spreading.

"Apart from the five who died many others are sick but there is total lack of healthcare services. A medical team distributed some medicines but this is not enough. Worst, the superstitious villagers believe that deaths are due to black magic cast upon them. At least 13 families have already fled the village and more families are likely to flee if the situation is not brought under control immediately," said MCDF president Hemanta Larma.

He added, "Although the situation is taking a serious proportion, there is delayed response from the authorities. There seems to be some problem as Thanzamasora village is under the administrative control of Lunglei district but healthcare services falls under the chief medical officer of adjoining Lawngtlai district."
 
Re: Mizoram: Five die of unidientified ARI

Re: Mizoram: Five die of unidientified ARI

http://mcdf.wordpress.com/2011/03/2...pidemic-in-thanzamasora-village-lunglei-dist/

MCDF?s intervention to avert epidemic in Thanzamasora village, Lunglei dist
By mcdf
Thanzamasora is a small village with 66 families, all Chakmas in Lunglei district. In the last fortnight, at least 5 villagers have died in this village due to a mysterious disease which struck in early March 2011. Lunglei district officials have confirmed the deaths of 5 villagers as of 20th March 2011. Many others have fallen sick to the disease and in fear, at least 13 families have fled the village.

On 25 March 2011, Mizoram Chakma Development Forum (MCDF) contacted with the concerned officials in the administration. MCDF discussed the issue with Additional Deputy Commissioner of Lunglei, T. Lalduhawma; Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in neighbouring Lawngtlai district, Dr R B Dey (Thanzamasora comes under Lawngtlai CMO); among others.

MCDF has been informed that a medical team from Kamala Nagar had visited the Thanzamasora village twice on 9th March and 20th March 2011, and distributed some medicines but those were not enough given the seriousness of the problem. Preliminary findings indicated that the deaths were due to acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia (ARI) but the doctors were not very sure.

T. Lalduhawma, ADC Lunglei, informed MCDF that on 25 March 2011 a medical team from Lunglei would be going to Thanzamasora village to take stock of the situation.

SDC, Demagiri informed MCDF that he had visited the village on 23 March 2011. He discussed elaborately with MCDF about how villagers still believed in black magic theory and arranged traditional hearers to cure the disease.

However, on the part of the administration and medical fraternity, they failed to create any awareness about Pneumonia which is believed to be the cause of the deaths. Only visits by doctors are not enough, in absence of total medical facilities in the village.

There is total panic as the villagers are deeply superstitious and actually believe that the sickness and deaths are caused due to black magic cast upon them. They have been trying to cure the sick with the help of village ?bodhyo? (traditional healers).

In the afternoon of 25 March 2011, MCDF sent a petition by fax to Pi M. Zohmingthangi, Deputy Commissioner, Lunglei; Vanhela Pachuau, Chief Secretary, Mizoram; Director, Health & Family Welfare, Mizoram; and Dr RB Dey, Chief Medical Officer, Lawngtlai seeking immediate intervention to prevent epidemic-like health crisis currently prevailing at Thanzamasora village.

MCDF in its petition pointed out that although Thanzamasora village is under the administrative control of Lunglei district, it falls under Lawngtlai Chief Medical Officer in neighbouring Lawngtlai district. Hence, there is a need for better coordination amongst officials to control the health crisis. Any unnecessary delay might result in more deaths and displacement. Further, since the actual cause of the deaths has not been confirmed as yet, ?there is an urgent need to further investigate the matter and provide necessary healthcare services with utmost priority basis.?

MCDF further pointed out the total absence of basic healthcare services and warned that ?More and more families are likely to flee if the situation is not brought under control immediately.?

MCDF made the following demands:

- Send a team of medical experts with all the necessary equipments and medical facilities who will camp at the Thanzamasora village till the situation is brought under total control;

- Establish a makeshift health camp at the Thanzamasora village as temporary basis and patients can be treated at the village;

- Make the necessary arrangements to shift the critical patients to hospitals in Lunglei or Aizawl for treatment;

- Immediately carry out awareness campaign in the area with the help of local NGOs like Young Chakma Association, educating the villagers about the diseases, their treatment, and healthcare and sanitation aspects in order to prevent the villagers from panic or fleeing from the village;

- Take measures to bring back all the families which have fled the village;

- Undertake a visit by senior officials from the District Administration which will bring confidence amongst the villagers; and

- Establish a Health Sub Centre with adequate number of staff al1dmedical facilities at Thanzamasora village as long term solution.
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of unidientified illness

Re: Mizoram: Six die of unidientified illness

The descriptions available do not allow a reasonable guess as to a diagnosis. Possiblilities could range from influenza (including H1N1), to dengue, to meningitis, all of which have been reported from Mizoram lately.

http://mizoramexpress.com/index.php/2011/03/mysterious-deaths-force-mizoram-villagers-to-flee/

Mysterious deaths force Mizoram villagers to flee
Written by Mizoram Express Mizo News Mar 26, 2011 20 views Aizawl, March 25 : The mysterious death of six villagers in two weeks, forced hundreds of villagers to flee Thanzamasora, a hamlet near Lunglei in south Mizoram. The local priest attributed the deaths to black magic.

According to reports which reached Lunglei town in Lunglei district, the Bru-dominated village had about 70 households. All of them took to their heels in fear.

While three persons died last week, three died this week. According to reports, the six deceased suffered from high fever and vomiting. Their bodies had turned blue-black when they died.

The village bawlpu (priest) claimed someone from the adjacent village had used witchcraft to cast a spell on Thanzamasora. This further triggered panic among villagers, who started migrating in large numbers to nearby villages and forests. The priest reportedly said his powers were not potent enough to counter the black magic.

Lunglei district deputy commissioner, Margaret Zohmingthangi, told TOI over phone that since they had not received a detailed report from the doctors who were sent from Chawngte, a fresh team of would be sent to Thanzamasora tomorrow.

But according to unofficial reports, the doctors from Chawngte have said that an epidemic-like situation was prevailing in the hamlet. They were not able to identify the cause of the death.
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of unidientified illness

Re: Mizoram: Six die of unidientified illness

The article linked in the above post is most likely Mizo language.

The Mizo language (Mizo: Mizo ṭawng) is natively spoken by Mizo people in Mizoram, a state in the Indian Union; Chin State of Myanmar and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The language is also known as Lushai (by the Colonial British), as Lusei people are the first clan who have an external exposure. For this reason, even in most of modern writings Lushai (or Lusei) is being used instead of Mizo.
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizo_language

I don't think there is an online translator but word by word translation is possible with this online Lushai-English dictionary:

http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/lorrain/

Other dictionaries for South Asia languages can be found at: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

The symptoms described seem like only a crude match for malaria, but they sure do not sound like ARI or pneumonia as originally reported.

http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-177717.html

Witchcraft fears subside in Mizoram village after docs visit
Aizawl, Mar 28: Chakma tribals in Thanzamasora village in Lunglei district of southern Mizoram are now at peace after a team of doctors and officials helped subside the fears of 'black magic' recently.





The team of doctors, who visited the remote village on Saturday, identified malaria as the cause behind the death of five people within a span of two weeks which had caused panic exodus in the village.

The team of doctors from Lunglei was accompanied by local MLA and veterinary minister Nihar Kanti Chakma and his parliamentary secretary S Laldingliana.

Five villagers of the Chakmas inhabited Thanzamasora died during the last two weeks suddenly and under similar circumstances, which the village priest attributed to black magic.

The priest claimed someone from the adjacent village had used witchcraft to cast a spell on the village, which forced the villagers to take shelter in the forest.

''Before the officials and doctors visited them, the villagers even dared not touch their food because of fear of a black magic,'' an official source said.

Doctors said the five villagers died under similar circumstances - high fever and vomiting and their bodies were dotted with dark spots when they died.

In his address to the villagers, Nihar Kanti Chakma said their forefathers were superstitious and feared of witchcraft and black magic.

''Do not believe in superstitions. Go back to your houses take your food and have a good sleep,'' Chakma told the villagers.

The village, which has about 70 households, is not accessible by roads and medical facilities are out of their reach.

The minister assured the village that they would be linked with roads under the PMGSY soon and health sub centre would be constructed in the village.

The minister gave Rs 2,000 each and five quintals of rice, one bundle of silpaulin, 25 kg of pulses and some utensils to the relatives of the malaria victims. The doctors took blood samples of 40 villagers for malaria test and distributed them free medicines.
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t-black-magic-Doctors/articleshow/7809819.cms

People died of malaria, not black magic: Doctors
TNN | Mar 28, 2011, 10.19pm IST

AIZAWL: Doctors who conducted verification of the mysterious deaths of six people in Thanzamasora hamlet in south Mizoram's Lunglei district said they died of cerebral malaria even as animistic priests of the hamlet, locally known as bawlpu claimed that they died due to a curse of another bawlpu.

Lunglei district deputy commissioner Maragaret Zohmingthangi said doctors sent from the Lunglei Civil Hospital suspected the cause of death of those villagers to be cerebral malaria and distributed malaria drugs free of cost to villagers in the area.

A person, taken ill with similar symptoms, like those who dies was treated successfully at Chawngte town when he was administered with medicines used to treat malaria.

Six people died in Thanzamasora during the past fortnight and their bodies had allegedly turned blue-black after the death [This now sounds like a possibly false report designed to attract attention. - alert] which caused panic among superstitious villagers.

The village priest claimed that they were cursed with black magic by a witch from another village and he was incapable of lifting the strong spell'.

Another bawlpu from a nearby Chawngte town promised to visit the village on March 29 to remove the spell, Zohmingthangi said, adding that the villagers were animists and extremely superstitious.

Many Chakma and Bru communities in Lunglei and Lawngtlai district in south Mizoram still follow primitive religion and believe in evil spirits where native priests still perform animistic rituals to pacify such evil spirits'.
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/6-die-of-cerebral-malaria-in-lunglei-in-march/629769.html

6 die of cerebral malaria in Lunglei in March
PTI | 05:03 PM,Mar 30,2011
Aizawl, Mar 30 (PTI) Six people died of cerebral malaria in south Mizoram's Lunglei district in March, the Minister of State for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Nihar Kanti Chakma today informed the state assembly. The deaths were diagnosed to have been caused by cerebral malaria at Thanzamasora, Chakma said adding during his visit to the area on March 26 he had tried to dispel the beliefs of the villagers that they were cursed by black magic and were fleeing from the area. "Many people migrated to other villages while some of them hid in the nearby forests for fear of the spell," he said, adding that he implored the people not to believe in superstition. Chakma also lauded the role of Christian missionaries in their efforts to dispell the superstition and for providing medical care to the affected families alogn with the government. He said three Malaria-affected persons were still under treatment at hospital in nearby Chawngte.
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

Re: Mizoram: Six die of suspected malaria

http://www.thenortheasttoday.in/ind...tery-disease-its-malaria&catid=48:latest-news

No mystery disease, its malaria
Aizawl:
Doctors who rushed to a Mizoram village that had witnessed five persons died of mysterious disease have now confirmed that it was malaria that had claimed lives in that village. A medical team along with ministers and other officials visited on March 28 to Thanzamasora village of Mizoram and investigated the cause for the death of five persons few days ago.
Government representatives that accompanied the medical team include Nihar Kanti Chakma, Mizoram cabinet minister, S.Laldingliana Parliamentary Secretary, Kali Kumar Tongchongya chief executive member (CEM), Chakma Autonomous District Council.
The visiting government and medical team had to walk to reach the village as the road is not motorable. Official sources on March 28 said that five persons were died on the same diseases of vomiting, high fever and headache.
Interestingly, the official team after reaching the village was surprised to learn that the villagers were of the belief that these five persons died of black magic bewitched by someone. When the team reached Thanzamasora, the villagers informed the official team villagers had run into the forest as they fear living in the village as the news had spread that more people would succumb to the black magic.
Meanwhile, the medical team consists of Dr. Rothangpuia, a pathologist, Dr. Lalhmachhuana, Medical Officer (MO) and staff. Dr. Rothangpuia said that after having checked the patients admitted at the Chawngte Civil Hospital proved that they are suffering from malaria.
Dr. Rothangpuia informed the villagers that it was not a black magic as such but it was malaria which had claimed five lives. They could have been saved if admitted to the hospital on time, the doctor said. The medical team checked as many as 40 patients at Thanzamasora village and free medicines were provided to the patients.
(NNN)
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of malaria

Re: Mizoram: Six die of malaria

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,87812

Archive Number 20110401.1009
Published Date 01-APR-2011
Subject PRO/EDR> Malaria - India (07): (LU)

MALARIA - INDIA (07): (LUNGLEI DISTRICT, MIZORAM STATE)
*******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Wed 30 Mar 2011
Source: YahooNews [edited]
<http://my.news.yahoo.com/6-die-cerebral-malaria-lunglei-march-20110330-030500-225.html>


6 die of cerebral malaria in Lunglei
------------------------------------
A total of 6 people died of cerebral malaria in south Mizoram's
Lunglei district in March [2011], the Minister of State for Animal
Husbandry and Veterinary Nihar Kanti Chakma today [30 Mar 2011]
informed the state assembly.

The deaths were diagnosed to have been caused by cerebral malaria at
Thanzamasora, Chakma said. He added that during his visit to the area
on 26 Mar 2011 he had tried to dispel the beliefs of the villagers
that they were cursed by black magic and were fleeing from the area.

"Many people migrated to other villages while some of them hid in the
nearby forests for fear of the spell," he said, adding that he
implored the people not to believe in superstition.

Chakma also lauded the role of Christian missionaries in their
efforts to dispell the superstition and for providing medical care to
the affected families along with the government. He said three
Malaria-affected persons were still under treatment at hospital in
nearby Chawngte.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Lunglei in Mizoram State is endemic for malaria, being located
between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Cerebral malaria is a late state of
the malaria infection and means that either the patients presented
late in the course of the infection to the health care facilities, or
that the treatment was not effective. [This thread indicates that treatment was non-existent due to lack of medical care. - alert] Treatment failure could be due
to drug resistance; for instance, chloroquine resistance is widespread
in India. Thus drug resistance or sub-standard drugs should be
suspected when cerebral malaria is suddenly seen in an endemic area
where this condition previously had been rare.
 
Five die of rare fever in Mizoram - Indian tick typhus

Five die of rare fever in Mizoram - Indian tick typhus

Five die of rare fever in Mizoram
- Alert sounded in state
SANTANU GHOSH
Silchar, April 16: Five Mizo villagers died of a rare viral fever, diagnosed as the Indian tick typhus, that surfaced in south Mizoram?s Thanzamasora last week.

Three other persons in the same village were also afflicted with the disease and are now undergoing treatment in a rural health clinic in nearby Chawngte.

The occurrence of the disease in Mizoram has rung an alarm not only in the state, but also in New Delhi.

According to official sources in Aizawl today, Thanzamasora, having no proper road connectivity, is situated 240km south of Aizawl and about 785km from Guwahati.

The parliamentary secretary in charge of health, S. Landingliana, said over telephone from Aizawl today that the director of health and family welfare, C. Lalthanmawia, and a team of senior officials from the Union health ministry had rushed to the village yesterday.

...

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110417/jsp/northeast/story_13862230.jsp
 
Re: Five die of rare fever in Mizoram - Indian tick typhus

Re: Five die of rare fever in Mizoram - Indian tick typhus

This article suggests that the fatalities are identical and that the diagnosis of malaria was incorrect. Note that this report is 5 days old.

Five people die of Indian tick typhus in Mizoram
Aizawl, Apr 11 : The cause of the mysterious death of five people in a remote Thanzamasora hamlet in southern Mizoram last month was not malaria, as had been reported earlier, the state health department said today.



Health officials, during a meeting of Anti Malaria Month Advocacy here, clarified that the cause of the mysterious death was ?Indian tick typhus?, a very rare disease, and not celebral malaria as stated earlier.

The officials said that malaria, considered to be the biggest killer disease in Mizoram, has claimed ''only'' two lives during this year.

Dr C Lalthanmawia, director of health services, in his power point presentation on the scenario of malaria in Mizoram, highlighted that of the 17,002 blood samples collected during this year, 805 were found to be malaria positive. Of these, 768 were malaria pf.


...

UNI
http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-187835.html
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of malaria

Re: Mizoram: Six die of malaria

Thank you for staying on top of this, RoRo; I believe you are correct - the diagnosis has been changed to Indian tick typhus. It is conceivable that "malaria" was being used to mean "febrile infectious disease", not necessarily malaria itself. Diagnosing the illness as "malaria" may have been a way to fight rumors of witchcraft.
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of Indian tick typhus

Way to go, RoRo!

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,88099


Archive Number 20110419.1223
Published Date 19-APR-2011
Subject PRO/EDR> Malaria - India (08): (LU) not

MALARIA - INDIA (08): (LUNGLEI DISTRICT, MIZORAM STATE) NOT
***********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Mon 11 Apr 2011
Source: newKerala.com [edited]
<http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-187835.html>


The cause of the mysterious death of 5 people in a remote
Thanzamasora hamlet in southern Mizoram last month [March 2011] was
not malaria, as had been reported earlier, the state health department
said today.

Health officials, during a meeting of Anti-Malaria Month Advocacy
here, clarified that the cause of the mysterious death was 'Indian
tick typhus,' a very rare disease, and not cerebral malaria as stated
earlier. The officials said that malaria, considered to be the biggest
killer disease in Mizoram, has claimed "only" 2 lives during this
year.

Dr C Lalthanmawia, director of health services, in his power point
presentation on the scenario of malaria in Mizoram, highlighted that
of the 17 002 blood samples collected during this year, 805 were found
to be malaria positive. Of these, 768 were malaria due to _Plasmodium
falciparum_. He said Mizoram has witnessed a fall in the number of
malaria-related deaths in 2010 with only 31 people succumbing to the
killer disease, as compared to 199 in 2009 and 99 in 2008.

According to the record of State Vector-Borne Diseases Control
Programme (SVBDCP), of the 322 929 blood samples tested during last
year [2010], 15 130 were found to be positive with malaria, of which
14 189 were malaria due to _Plasmodium falciparum_, more deadly than
malaria due to _Plasmodium vivax_. As many as 15 099 malaria patients
were cured. As many as 9399 people were tested positive for malaria,
of which 7387 were malaria _Plasmodium falciparum_, during the year
2009. Of these 119 people died, the record said.

Among the 8 districts of Mizoram, Lunglei district in southern
Mizoram topped with 11 malarial deaths in 2010 and Champhai district,
bordering Myanmar, did not have any death due to malaria, the record
said.

According to the death investigation report of the health department,
most of the malarial deaths happened due to negligence on the parts of
the patients that led to delayed treatment. "In 2009, malaria patients
were on an average 4 days late when they took treatment. In 2010, they
were on an average 2 days late. There was a sign of improvement due to
extensive health awareness campaign through the media," officials
said. The health department has set up FTD/ASHA in all towns and
villages to help malaria patients get treatment on time.

--
communicated by:
Ronan Kelly
<ronankelly@comcast.net>

[This outbreak, in which 6 people died in the Indian village of
Thanzamasora, was initially reported as malaria (Malaria - India (07):
(LU) 20110401.1009); ProMED-mail thanks Ronan Kelly for informing us
that the outbreak was actually due to Indian tick typhus caused by
_Rickettsia conorii_. A detailed discussion of this disease can be
found at ProMED-mail post: Indian tick typhus - India (Himachal
Pradesh) 20070806.2554.

Thanzamasora is a small village in the Lunglei district of the Indian
state of Mizoram (<http://mcdf.wordpress.com/2011/03/>). All 66
families in Thanzamasora belong to the Chakma people, the largest
ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where they make up more
than half the tribal population
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakma_people>). Lunglei district is
one of the 8 districts of Mizoram state in India. The district is
bounded on the west by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar. For a
map of this district, see
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunglei_district>. The interactive
HealthMap/ProMED-mail map of the Indian state of Mizoram is available
at <http://healthmap.org/r/0DRY>. - Mod.ML]
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of Indian tick typhus

Mizoram to send dog ticks to Delhi
PTI | 06:04 PM,Apr 20,2011
Aizawl, Apr 20 (PTI) Mizoram Health department would send dog ticks known as Riphicephalus Sanguineus, collected from south Mizoram's Thanzamasora hamlet, to the laboratories in the National Centre for Disease Control in New Delhi for tests in view of the death of six villagers due to Indian Tick Typhus disease.An official statement issued today said that though the cause of death of the six people in Thanzamasora in Lunglei district during March were declared as cerebral malaria, it was found to be due to an extremely rare disease known as the Indian Tick Typhus.The statement said that the blood samples of some patients in Tnazamasora, showing the same symptoms, were sent to the National Centre for Disease Control, and the laboratory tests confirmed that the disease was Indian Tick Typhus.A particular Tick found in rodents and domestic dogs could be infected with a bacteria known as Rickettsia Conorii Indica and if the tick bites a human being, the bacteria could be fatal
...

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/mizoram-to-send-dog-ticks-to-delhi/654950.html
 
Re: Mizoram: Six die of Indian tick typhus

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,88281


Archive Number 20110502.1359
Published Date 02-MAY-2011
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Indian tick typhus - India: (MZ)

INDIAN TICK TYPHUS - INDIA: (MIZORAM)
*************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Wed 20 Apr 2011
Source: IBN Live [edited]
<http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/mizoram-to-send-dog-ticks-to-delhi/654950.html>


The Mizoram Health Department will send dog ticks known
as_Rhipicephalus sanguineus_, collected from Mizoram's Thanzamasora
hamlet, to the laboratories of the National Centre for Disease Control
in New Delhi for tests, in view of the deaths of 6 villagers due to
Indian tick typhus.

According to an official statement here, the cause of death of the 6
people at Thanzamasora in Lunglei district during March 2011 was
declared as cerebral malaria, but it was found to be due to a rare
disease known as Indian tick typhus.

The statement said that the blood samples of some patients in
Tnazamasora, showing the same symptoms, were sent to the National
Centre for Disease Control, and the laboratory tests confirmed that
the disease was Indian tick typhus, transmitted by a particular tick
found in rodents and domestic dogs, caused by a bacterium known as
_Rickettsia conorii_.

The disease was detected in 1999 from a French tourist and also among
tea garden workers in Kerala in 2004, the statement added.

--
Communicated by:
Merritt Clifton
Editor, Animal People
Clinton, WA
<anmlpepl@whidbey.com>

[The manifestations of illness in the cases and how many non-fatal
cases occurred are not stated.

The following is part of the case report of the French tourist
mentioned above with a discussion of the Indian tick typhus (ITT)
variant with the citations removed
(<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no5/parola_letter.htm>):

Although ITT was clinically described at the beginning of the
century, the etiologic agent has never been isolated from patients in
India, nor has a case been diagnosed by strain-specific serologic
testing. A spotted fever group rickettsia was isolated in 1950 from a
brown dog tick, _Rhipicephalus sanguineus_, collected in India and
assumed to be the agent causing ITT. It was designated as _Rickettsia
conorii_, the agent of Mediterranean spotted fever , which occurs all
around the Mediterranean and is transmitted by the same tick species.
However, the disease as it appears in India differs from the common
description of Mediterranean spotted fever. The rash is frequently
purpuric, and an inoculation eschar at the bite site is rarely found,
as in this case. The disease as known in India is mild to moderately
severe, although our case may be considered severe.

Strain differences within the species _R. conorii_ may account for
differences in clinical presentation. Although different isolates of
_R. conorii_ can be distinguished antigenically, molecular taxonomic
methods demonstrated recently that these rickettsiae are closely
related and cluster together. Thus, the species is considered by many
as _R. conorii_, including 4 serovars: _R. conorii_ with 3 type
strains, Seven being the one most commonly identified in our
laboratory in isolates from France, Portugal, North Africa (D. Raoult,
unpub. data), Kenya, and Morocco (apparently a unique isolate); _R.
conorii_ Indian tick typhus; _R. conorii_ Astrakhan, and _R. conorii_
Israel.

The brown dog tick, _Rhipicephalus sanguineus_ Latreille, is unusual
among ticks in that it can complete its entire life cycle indoors
(<http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/brown_dog_tick.htm>).
Because of this, it can establish populations in colder climates, and
has been found in much of the world. Many tick species can be carried
indoors on animals, but cannot complete their entire life cycle
inside. Although _R. sanguineus_ will feed on a wide variety of
mammals, dogs are the preferred host in the U.S. and appear to be
required to develop large infestations.

Infestations in houses can explode to very high levels quickly.
Typically, a few ticks are brought into the house or kennel, often on
a dog which has been away from home. The early stages of the
infestation, when only a few individuals are present, are often missed
completely. The 1st indication that the dog owner has that there is a
problem is when they start noticing ticks crawling up the walls or
curtains! - Mod.LL]
 
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