Prevalence of scrub typhus in children among acute fever in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Scrub typhus along with other rickettsial infections are under-diagnosed in India because of their non-specific clinical presentation, low index of suspicion among physicians and lack of diagnostic facilities. It is a common cause of acute febrile illness in India. Scrub typhus can lead to different complications such as refractory shock, meningoencephalitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopneumonia, acute kidney injury and myocarditis. In southern part of Odisha, there are limited studies of scrub typhus available in children. With this background this study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of scrub typhus in children presenting with acute febrile illness of more than or equal to five days in a tertiary care teaching hospital.