scrub typhus

8.4

A disease people get when tiny animals called mites bite them that gives fever and a rash

noun
/skrʌb ˈtaɪfəs/

Specialized

: tifus de scrub

The doctor explained that scrub typhus is an infectious disease that can be treated with antibiotics if caught early.

Examples

In Southeast Asia, many travelers fall ill with scrub typhus, experiencing symptoms like fever and rash.
Most cases of scrub typhus and spotted fever caused by R. conorii (which we identified in 3 patients) can be treated effectively with doxycycline (36).

Academic text (2015)
We found 6 cases of infection with O. tsutsugamushi, the etiologic agent of scrub typhus, which is prevalent in Southeast Asia, although not thought to be common in Bangkok.

Academic text (2015)
After camping in rural Thailand, he was diagnosed with scrub typhus, caused by a bite from a larval mite.

Synonyms

tsutsugamushi disease

vsscrub typhus

Indian

9.9

An infection in Asia when bacteria from mite bites cause fever, rash, and sometimes serious problems

is an alternative name for the same infection often used in medical contexts

Surface Forms

scrub typhus singular

scrub typhuses plural

Morphology

scrub + typhus

A learner who knows 'scrub' (brushy vegetation) and 'typhus' (a febrile disease) can infer that 'scrub typhus' denotes a form of typhus associated with scrub habitat, so the compound gives a useful clue to its nature. However, the specific cause (Orientia tsutsugamushi), vector (larval mites), and clinical specifics are not derivable from the constituents, making the term only partially predictable.

Etymology

Scrub typhus comes from scrub, a name for low bushes where tiny mites live, and from typhus, an old word for a serious fever illness. People catch it when a mite bites in those bushes, causing fever and rash, so the name means 'a fever from scrub'.