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Vector Borne Infectious Diseases / Viral Infections and Immunology Research / Zoonotic Diseases and Public Health · Journal article
Discover Public Health · September 2, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
This pilot surveillance study documents scrub typhus seropositivity in 22.40% of non-malarial acute undifferentiated fever cases at four district hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, with spatial clustering and a case fatality rate of 1.04%. The findings establish presence and burden of the disease in the region but do not yet quantify population incidence, identify risk factors, or compare outcomes to other settings.
Pilot descriptive cross-sectional surveillance study. Individuals presenting with non-malarial acute undifferentiated fever of three days or more duration at four District Hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, India.. Intervention: IgM ELISA testing for Orientia tsutsugamushi serology. n = 1,281. Four District Hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Seropositivity rate: 287 of 1281 individuals screened (22.40%) were positive for scrub typhus IgM serology Case fatality rate: 3 deaths among positive cases (1.04%) Age distribution: 54.34% of cases below 40 years; mean age 38.10 years (SD 16.86)
Safety was not reported in the material analysed. Check the source before drawing any conclusion about harm.
This pilot establishes that scrub typhus is circulating and detectable in Madhya Pradesh among fever patients; clinicians in the region should consider the disease in the differential diagnosis of acute undifferentiated fever. The study supports the case for enhanced surveillance but does not yet guide clinical management, risk stratification, or public health intervention priorities beyond indicating the need for intensified detection.
A pilot descriptive surveillance study from four district hospitals establishing disease presence and epidemiological patterns, but lacking a comparator, control group, or analytical design to test hypotheses.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
This pilot establishes that scrub typhus is circulating and detectable in Madhya Pradesh among fever patients; clinicians in the region should consider the disease in the differential diagnosis of acute undifferentiated fever. The study supports the case for enhanced surveillance but does not yet guide clinical management, risk stratification, or public health intervention priorities beyond indicating the need for intensified detection.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Scrub typhus cases have been reported in Madhya Pradesh; however, the extent and the distribution of the disease remain unclear. Our aim was to establish evidence for the circulation of Orientia tsutsugamushi, the causative agent of scrub typhus in Madhya Pradesh, and to describe its epidemiology in terms of time, place, and demographics. We established Fever Sentinel Surveillance Sites (FSSS) at four District Hospitals of Madhya Pradesh. All Non-Malarial Acute Undifferentiated fever (NMUAF) cases of three days or more were identified, and their samples were tested for Scrub Typhus by IgM ELISA. For descriptive epidemiology, analysis of time, place, and spatial distribution of scrub typhus positive cases was performed. Spatial pattern of scrub typhus cases was analyzed using Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA). Of a total of 1281 individuals screened, 287 were positive for Scrub typhus serology (22.40%) On follow up, three of them died (case fatality rate of 1.04%). More than half of the cases (54.34%) were below 40 years of age, with a mean age of 38.10 years (SD 16.86). There was a slight male preponderance, with 52.61% males and 47.38% females. Spatial analysis of Scrub typhus cases showed that the spatial autocorrelation was positive, suggesting clustering of reported cases during the study duration. Conclusively, our study indicates the substantial burden of Scrub typhus, a neglected tropical disease in Madhya Pradesh. This suggests the public health implications of Scrub typhus and the need for intensifying its surveillance in Madhya Pradesh.
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