Seropositivity of Scrub Typhus Inpatients Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western Odisha

BACKGROUND Scrub typhus is a vector borne Rickettsial disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and has been reported from tsutsugamushi triangle which includes India. It is a reemerging pathogen in India including the state of Odisha. This study was conducted to determine seropositivity of scrub typhus in patients attending a tertiary care hospital of Western Odisha. METHODS Fifty febrile patients who were negative for Malaria, Dengue and Leptospira attending a tertiary care hospital of Western Odisha were enrolled in the study. 3 ml of blood was collected, and serum was separated. IgM SD Bioline Tsutsugamushi lateral flow immunochromatography test was performed as per manufacturer instruction. Positive samples were confirmed by PCR method (Geno-Sen's ST Real Time PCR). RESULTS 20% of patients were positive for IgM SD Bioline Tsutsugamushi card test. 60% of positive patients were male. 20% of positive patients were having pathognomonic eschar. 60 % of infected patients were in the age group of 10 - 30. CONCLUSIONS In this study, 20% of febrile patients were positive for Scrub typhus infection. So, it should be included in the differential diagnosis of a febrile patient in Western Odisha.