Scrub Typhus, a potentially deadly disease that kills up to 70 percent of those infected, has been detected in the United States for the first time, according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study found that mites carrying the bacteria that causes scrub typhus were present in half of the national parks surveyed in North Carolina. The disease can be transmitted to humans through bites and can cause symptoms such as rashes, scab-like wounds on the skin, and in severe cases, impairments to the lungs and heart that can lead to death. Despite no reported cases of the disease in North Carolina so far, there are concerns about the increasing prevalence of bug-borne pathogens nationwide.
In recent months, the US has seen a rise in mosquito-borne diseases, including domestic malaria cases in Florida and Texas, as well as the spread of the West Nile Virus to new towns in Ohio and Connecticut. There are also concerns about the spread of tick-borne diseases, such as babesiosis, which has a fatality rate of one in five people it infects.
The study was led by scientists at North Carolina State University, who warn that further surveillance is needed to determine if the disease has spread to other states. The researchers discovered that nine out of ten mites in Lumber River State Park were infected with scrub typhus, while other parks like Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, Falls Lake State Recreation Area, and Morrow Mountain State Park also had infected mites.
Scrub typhus is native to the Tsutsugamushi Triangle, which stretches from Pakistan to far eastern Russia and Australia, where it causes one million cases each year. However, it has recently started to appear in other areas of the world, including the Middle East, southern Chile, and Africa, prompting researchers to search for it in the US.
The disease is caused by the Orientia tsutsugamushi bacteria, which can be carried by mites. Symptoms usually appear about 10 to 12 days after being infected and include a lesion at the site of the mite bite, as well as headache, fever, chills, muscle pains, and a rash. Without treatment, the disease can lead to complications in the heart, lungs, and blood, which can be fatal. Treatment typically involves the use of antibiotics to kill the bacteria causing the infection.
It remains unclear how scrub typhus reached the US, but it is possible that an infected person arrived in the country and was bitten by a mite, transmitting the disease. Alternatively, mites carrying the bacteria could have been transported to the US through airplanes or imports on ships.
This discovery highlights the importance of further surveillance and research to understand the spread of disease-carrying vectors and prevent potential outbreaks in the US.