Prisca Tang
The Health Bureau said in a statement yesterday there is a suspected case of Tsutsugamushi Disease, which also known as Scrub Typhus, involving a 57-year-old local resident who went fishing near Ka-Ho Fuel Oil Terminal.
According to the statement, the resident started to show symptoms of the disease, such as headache, fever and a cough, on September 4. He was then hospitalised last Sunday, and after a more thorough body check, a doctor found two eschars, which were each the size of a green bean in his crotch. The bureau said in a statement that it believed the resident had caught Tsutsugamushi Disease. The statement noted that his friend who went fishing with him and his family members did not share similar symptoms. The statement also added that the residents had walked through a grass field before they started fishing.
An eschar is a collection of dry, dead tissue within a wound.
The statement pointed out that Tsutsugamushi Disease is transmitted by bugs or rodents that carry Rickettsia Tsutsugamushi. The statement said that rodents and bugs which carry Rickettsia Tsutsugamushi tend to live in grassland that has a high temperature and humid environment.
According to the statement, the disease can be transmitted though bites from the carriers. The statement noted that the symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain and other skin conditions. The statement underlined that after being bitten by the carrier, there will be a painless eschar. The statement stressed that currently there is no vaccination or antibiotics to treat the disease.
The bureau urges residents to abide by the following guidelines when engaged in outdoor activities: maintain good personal hygiene by showering and changing clothes, avoid entering grassland, wear long sleeves and bug repellent, and find a doctor immediately if showing the above symptoms.
