TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE CONTEXT: Recently, Meghalaya Chief Minister was hospitalised after testing positive for scrub typhus and typhoid.
EXPLANATION:
The Scrub Typhus:
- Scrub typhus is also referred to as bush typhus.
- It is a life-threatening infection caused by the bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi.
- Scrub typhus is transmitted to humans by bites from tiny, infected mites.
- The transmission to humans mostly occurs through the bites of chiggers, which are infected larval mites.
- Chiggers are also called berry bugs, bush-mites, red bugs or scrub-itch mites.
- The disease is predominantly seen in the rural locales of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India, and northern Australia.
- The symptoms of scrub typhus typically begin within 10 days of being bitten.
- Some of the symptoms of the scrub typhus: Fever and chills Headache, Body aches and muscle pain, Mental changes: ranging from confusion to coma.
- One-third of patients develop a severe disease that affects multiple organs in the body and leads to lethally low blood pressure.
Scrub Typhus: Treatment
- A team of Indian scientists has identified a significantly more effective treatment for severe scrub typhus.
- The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), showed that treating patients with a combination of intravenous antibiotics doxycycline and azithromycin is more effective than the current monotherapy of using either drug alone.
- The study found that when both azithromycin and doxycycline were administered together to patients with severe scrub typhus, the bacteria were cleared away quicker and patients improved faster.
- This could be because doxycycline and azithromycin stop the bacteria from producing proteins through different, but complementary, mechanisms.
Typhoid
- Typhoid fever is a life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi.
- It is usually spread through contaminated food or water.
- Once Salmonella Typhi bacteria are ingested, they multiply and spread into the bloodstream.
- Urbanization and climate change have the potential to increase the global burden of typhoid.
- In addition, increasing resistance to antibiotic treatment is making it easier for typhoid to spread in communities that lack access to safe drinking water or adequate sanitation.
Symptoms
- Salmonella Typhi lives only in humans. Persons with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract.
- Symptoms include prolonged high fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, abdominal pain, and constipation or diarrhoea.
- Some patients may have a rash. Severe cases may lead to serious complications or even death. Typhoid fever can be confirmed through blood testing.
Treatment
- Typhoid fever can be treated with antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is common with likelihood of more complicated and expensive treatment options required in the most affected regions.
- Even when the symptoms go away, people may still be carrying typhoid bacteria, meaning they can spread it to others, through shedding of bacteria in their faeces.
