Scrub typhus complicated by ARDS, myocarditis, and encephalitis imported to Oman from Nepal

Abstract

Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal rickettsial infection caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. It is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium transmitted by the bite of infected chigger larva. The disease is distributed from Asia to the Pacific islands, and this region is known as the Tsutsugamushi Triangle. A 28-year-old man was admitted to the Royal Hospital with a four-day history of fever, headache, rigors, anorexia, and a nonspecific macular rash. Clinical presentation, laboratory results as well as epidemiological data indicated that this might be a case of scrub typhus. Additional serology tests confirmed the presumed diagnosis, and the patient was successfully treated with empirical therapy. Untreated scrub typhus has high mortality and early diagnosis and adequate treatment can prevent the potentially fatal outcome of the disease.