A 71-year-old Hong Kong resident has become this year’s 10th case of Tsutsugamushi Disease (also known as scrub typhus), according to a statement by the Health Bureau (SSM) on Friday.
The statement noted that the male victim, with a history of chronic illness, had come down with a fever, and cough with sputum last Sunday, and sought treatment at the private Kiang Wu Hospital last Wednesday due to a persistent fever and chest pain.
The statement added that during a medical examination, the patient was found to have two soybean-sized eschars* on his left calf, and his chest radiographs showed bilateral pneumonia.
The statement said he was later diagnosed with scrub typhus, severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, and was in serious condition, but was in stable condition after treatment.
The statement pointed out that the patient went to a park in Guangzhou on October 11 where he walked through grassland, but had not been to a country park in Macau for activities such as hiking, adding that his family members had not developed similar symptoms.
In the statement, the bureau urged members of the public to take the necessary precautions when engaging in outdoor activities at grasslands.
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 temperatures, humidity and weeds are the most common reservoirs of Rickettsia Tsutsugamushi.
Those who suffer from scrub typhus may develop symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, and rashes, or even show serious complications, such as pneumonia and meningitis which in serious cases can cause respiratory failure and even death.
*A slough or piece of dead tissue cast off from the surface of the skin.
