Meningoencephalitis: A Rare Presentation of Scrub Typhus

Abstract

Scrub typhus is a mite-born acute febrile illness endemic to a part of the world known as the “tsutsugamushi triangle,” which also includes Nepal. It has a wide range of presentations with multiple organ involvement, including meningoencephalitis. We present a unique case of a 30-year-old lady with scrub typhus meningoencephalitis, which showed drastic improvement with doxycycline. This case highlights the importance of high suspicion in an endemic area with limited diagnostic facilities. With the early initiation of empirical therapy, fatal complications of scrub typhus infection such as meningoencephalitis can be prevented.