Background & objectives: Scrub typhus, an acute febrile Rickettsial disease is caused by the bacterial pathogen Orientia tsutsugamushi which is spread by the bite of infected chigger mite vectors belonging to the family Trombiculidae. A study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of scrub typhus among the indigenous population from Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
Methods: This study was conducted among 214 patients with fever of unknown aetiology and a recent history of febrile illness attending the Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association medical facilities available at Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu. Serum samples were tested for scrub typhus IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: Overall, 13 (6.07%) of the 214 samples tested were positive for scrub typhus. This is the first seroprevalence report of scrub typhus from the indigenous people belonging to Irula, Kurumba, Paniyar, and Kota tribes from the Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu.
Interpretation & conclusions: Early diagnosis and effective management will protect this indigenous population from this disease. This report would help in creating awareness regarding scrub typhus infection among clinicians and public health authorities in the region and take appropriate measures for treatment and control.

中文翻译：

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印度泰米尔纳德邦 Nilgiris 地区部落地带的第一份恙虫病血清流行率报告

背景和目的：恙虫病是一种急性发热性立克次体病，由恙虫病东方菌引起，该病菌通过属于恙螨科的受感染恙螨病媒的叮咬传播。进行了一项研究，以了解泰米尔纳德邦 Nilgiris 土著居民中恙虫病的流行情况。
方法：本研究在泰米尔纳德邦 Nilgiris 区 Nilgiris Adivasi 福利协会医疗机构就诊的 214 名不明原因发热和近期发热病史的患者中进行。对血清样本进行了斑疹伤寒 IgM 酶联免疫吸附试验。
结果：总体而言，在 214 个测试样本中，有 13 个（6.07%）对恙虫病呈阳性反应。这是来自泰米尔纳德邦 Nilgiris 区的Irula、Kurumba、Paniyar和Kota部落的土著人民的第一份恙虫病血清流行率报告。
解释和结论:早期诊断和有效管理将保护该土著人口免受这种疾病的侵害。该报告将有助于提高该地区临床医生和公共卫生当局对恙虫病感染的认识，并采取适当的治疗和控制措施。