Scrub typhus spreads to urban settings, hinting at growing risk

Over 3,900 people have contracted the disease so far this year. Doctors say mis-diagnosis and delay in diagnosis and treatment of the infection lead to severity and deaths.

Last week, a 40-year-old woman from the New Baneshwar area of Kathmandu was rushed to the emergency ward of Civil Hospital after complaining of weakness in her limbs. Despite taking medications after various tests at a private clinic, her ailments— high fever and severe body aches, headache, abdominal pain, and joint and muscle pain—did not subside.