Rare Scrub Typhus Case Detected in UAE Returnee from Kerala

A team of medical researchers from Kerala has identified a rare case of scrub typhus in a Thiruvananthapuram native who recently returned from Dubai, UAE — a country not known to be endemic to the disease.

Key Highlights

• Published Findings:
  The case was detailed in Mass Gathering Medicine, a peer-reviewed, open-access medical journal, which noted that this case points to the possibility of transmission in non-endemic regions.
• Call for Further Research:
  Researchers have urged for:
  • Enhanced epidemiological studies to track disease occurrence among different population groups in the region.
  • Entomological investigations to study the vector (mite) population potentially responsible for transmission.

About Scrub Typhus

• Scientific Name: Orientia tsutsugamushi (formerly Rickettsia tsutsugamushi)
• Also Known As: Tsutsugamushi disease
• Type: Acute febrile infectious illness (rickettsial disease)
• Transmission: Spread through the bite of infected chiggers (larval mites).
• Host: Humans are accidental hosts in this zoonotic disease.

Geographical Range – “Tsutsugamushi Triangle”

• The disease is endemic to a region known as the “Tsutsugamushi Triangle”, which stretches from:
  • Northern Japan and far-eastern Russia (North)
  • Northern Australia (South)
  • Pakistan (West)

Scrub Typhus in Kerala

• Endemic Districts: Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, and Kollam.
• Annual Incidence: Around 1,000 cases reported each year.
• 2024 Data:
  • 981 cases and 19 deaths recorded.
  • Thiruvananthapuram alone accounted for 733 cases and 8 deaths.

Significance of the Finding

• Marks a potential shift in disease geography, with signs of possible local transmission in UAE, previously non-endemic.
• Highlights the impact of travel and migration on infectious disease spread.
• Calls for regional surveillance and public health preparedness in the Middle East and Gulf countries.

Sources: TH & NCDC