Sundergarh: Ten more people have tested positive for scrub typhus infection in the district in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of such cases to 221.
Sundergarh chief district medical officer (CDMO) Kanhucharan Nayak said 51 samples have been tested in the past 24 hours, of which 10 were found positive.
Scrub typhus infection spreads through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites).
The rising cases of chigger-borne disease emerged as a cause of concern for the district health department.
All the doctors in the district have been instructed to get patients tested for scrub typhus even with minor fever and other symptoms.
The CDMO suggested the private hospitals to refer such patients to the district headquarters hospital or Rourkela IGH, if such infection is detected.
The district has sufficient amount of drugs for the treatment of the disease, he said. Moreover, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in these hospitals has also been kept ready for critical patients, he informed.
The health official advised the people to consult doctors if fever persists for more than a week.
