Eleven more people were found scrub typhus positive in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Sunday, taking the total number of such cases in the district to 180, a health official said.

Fifty-nine samples were sent for testing, of which 11 were detected positive for scrub typhus, he said.

Of the 180 infected people, 10 patients are from outside Odisha and nine are from other districts, said Kanhucharan Nayak., chief district medical officer of Sundergarh.

The district had on Saturday reported seven positive cases.

Scrub typhus infection spreads through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites).

If fever continues for a period of four or five days, one should go for the test which is available free of cost, he said.

The testing for scrub typhus is being done at Rourkela Government Hospital and the Sundargarh district health centre.

The health department is deploying Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife volunteers to spread awareness about the disease.

So far, seven people have died due to the disease in Odisha. While six deaths have been reported from Bargarh district, one person has succumbed to the infection in Sundargarh.

Meanwhile, the health department sent a three-member medical team from Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Burla to Bargarh on Saturday to monitor the situation and suggest steps to control it.

Currently, there are 11 active cases in Bargarh district, officials said.

People, who frequently visit farmland or forests, are vulnerable to the infection.

The most common symptoms of scrub typhus disease include fever and a black inflamed mark on the skin called ‘eschar’.

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