A 39-year-old male Filipino non-resident worker (NRW) who works in Seac Pai Van Park in Coloane has been diagnosed with Tsutsugamushi Disease (aka scrub typhus), the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday.
This is the third suspected case of scrub typhus reported in Macau this year.
According to the statement, the patient, who had developed a fever and sore throat on Friday, went to the private Kiang Wu Hospital for treatment on Sunday after coming down with high fever, where a peanut-sized eschar was found in his left armpit.
An eschar is a slough or piece of dead tissue cast off from the surface of the skin.
The patient said that neither his family nor colleagues had developed similar symptoms, adding that he had been working in a grassy area at his workplace, according to the statement, which pointed out that the patient had not travelled outside Macau recently.
According to the statement, scrub typhus is an acute infectious disease caused by bites from larval mites or chiggers carrying Rickettsia Tsutsugamushi. Rodents living in grasslands with high temperature, humidity and weeds are the most common reservoir of Rickettsia Tsutsugamushi.
Those suffering from scrub typhus may develop symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, and rashes, or show serious complications, such as pneumonia and meningitis which in serious cases can cause respiratory failure and death.
The bureau urged residents to abide by the following measures when engaged in outdoor activities: avoid crossing grassy or wooded areas by using footpaths whenever possible, wear long sleeves and use a bug repellent, have a shower and put on a change of clothes when arriving home after leaving susceptible areas where they could have been easily infected with the disease, and find a doctor promptly if showing scrub typhus symptoms.
This undated file photo shows a chigger under a microscope.
– Photo courtesy of the US Missouri Department of Conservation
