Odisha Health Department urges people not to panic, says no scrub typhus cases confirmed

Bhubaneswar: Urging people not to panic over reports of scrub typhus cases in Anugola district, the Odisha Health and Family Welfare Department today stated no case has been confirmed so far. According to the Directorate of Public Health, the initially reported cases were detected through rapid test kits, which are not considered confirmatory tests. Official sources said in the first phase, samples of all nine patients who tested positive through rapid tests were subjected to confirmatory ELISA testing. All nine samples subsequently returned negative. The remaining samples are being tested through ELISA in phases to verify the initial rapid-test results. The Health Department is closely monitoring the situation. The Anugola district health team has been deployed to the affected area to assess the situation and ensure that appropriate medical care is provided. Necessary precautionary and preventive measures, including active surveillance and other public health interventions, have also been initiated, officials said. Anugola Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Dr Madanmohan Pradhan said samples of nine patients from the Palalahada area, who had tested positive for scrub typhus through field kits as of Saturday, were sent for ELISA testing to confirm the diagnosis. “All nine samples have tested negative in the ELISA test,” Dr Pradhan said. Meanwhile, samples of another 30 patients who tested positive in field tests on Sunday are being sent in phases for confirmatory ELISA testing. Health officials expect the results to be negative as well, the CDMO said. The situation remains under continuous monitoring, with authorities taking necessary steps to safeguard public health. Scrub typhus is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi and transmitted through the bites of infected larval mites, commonly known as chiggers. Symptoms may include high fever and chills, severe headache, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, rash and an eschar, or dark scab-like lesion, at the site of the mite bite.