A 74-year-old local man who has been diagnosed with tsutsugamushi disease (aka scrub typhus), adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and shock at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre is currently hospitalised in critical condition and on a ventilator, according to a statement by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday.
The male patient, a retiree with no history of chronic disease, is this year’s sixth case of scrub typhus reported in Macau, the statement pointed out.
The statement quoted the patient’s family as saying that he and his wife had a daily routine of hiking on the Coloane Northeast Hiking Trail Network and walking through a grassland there, and their last trip to the trail in Ka Ho was on July 24. The statement also said that the patient had been to Hong Kong during the incubation period, but did not engage in any outdoor activities, such as hiking, in its country parks.
According to the statement, the victim sought treatment at a medical centre after developing symptoms such as fever and generalised muscle pain on July 24, but was hospitalised at the public hospital last Tuesday due to a persistent high fever. The statement added that the patient, who on that day was diagnosed with scrub typhus, adult respiratory distress syndrome and shock, was found to have a soybean-sized eschar (a superficial structure of dead tissue), on his lower sternum (breastbone) after undergoing a medical examination.
The statement underlined that neither the patient’s family members nor his travelling companions developed similar symptoms.
The statement noted that the symptoms of scrub typhus include fever, headache, muscle pain and skin rash, characterised by a painless, penetrating ulcerative eschar at the site of a chigger bite.
In the statement, members of the public are urged to heed precautionary measures when engaged in outdoor activities, such as wearing long sleeves, using a bug repellent and walking on footpaths when possible.
This file photo taken in June shows the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre on Estrada do Visconde de S. Januário. – Photo: Tony Wong
