Around 70 percent of the samples taken from mice caught from various parts of Chitwan have been found carrying the type of mite that are associated with scrub typhus disease.

This discovery was made by a team from the Epidemiology and Infectious Disease Control Division in the wake of scrub typhus outbreak in the district. The team had taken the samples of blood, lungs, liver, kidney and pancreas of  mice captured from Sharadanagar, Rampur, Mangalupur, Parbatipur and Bikash Chok areas two weeks ago. Scrub typhus is an infectious illness caused by the bacteria, Orientia tsutsugamushi, which could lead to death if untreated.

According to the District Public Health Office, 189 recent cases of scrub typhus were found among the people of Chitwan. The infection has so far been reported in 32 districts. At least 13 people have died of scrub typhus while 240 people have been taken ill since the disease was first diagnosed in the country in August 2015.