A 28-year-old tribal woman from the Changalamoola tribal hamlet at Neykuppa in Poothadi grama panchayat died of scrub typhus, transmitted by infected ticks, on Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as Bindu.
A woman from Maveli Nagar at Cheeral in the district had died of the disease three months ago.
“Bindu had been admitted to the District Hospital at Mananthavady four days ago with symptoms of scrub typhus and later she was referred to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode,” R. Renuka, District Medical Officer, told The Hindu .
Her condition worsened on Tuesday night and she died on Wednesday, Dr. Renuka said.
The samples collected from the patient had been sent to the Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) and the tests confirmed it as a case of scrub typhus, Dr. Renuka added.
A few days ago, 24 fever cases were reported in the tribal hamlet and the ailing were admitted to the Family Health Centre at Poothadi. Ten among them showed symptoms of scrub typhus and the disease was confirmed in six persons, K.M. Noona Marja, District Surveillance Officer, said.
There was no need for panic as all steps had been taken to tackle the outbreak of the disease in the district, Dr. Marja said.
Orientia tsutsugamushi , a tick-borne bacterium belonging to the family Rickettsiaceae, is responsible for scrub typhus in humans.
Chigger mites (larval mites) on rodents such as rat and squirrel transmitted the disease to humans, Dr. Marja said.
Surveillance improved
Surveillance had been stepped up in forest areas of the hamlet, she added.
According to data available with the district Health Department, 51 scrub typhus cases have been reported from the district so far this year, with two deaths as against 43 cases and one death during the corresponding period last year.
