scrub typhus

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. an infectious disease occurring chiefly in Japan and the East Indies, caused by the organism Rickettsia tsutsugamushi, transmitted by mites through biting.

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scrub typhus British  

noun

1. an acute febrile disease characterized by severe headache, skin rash, chills, and swelling of the lymph nodes, caused by the bite of mites infected with the microorganism Rickettsia tsutsugamushi: occurs mainly in Asia, Australia, and the islands of the western Pacific

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Etymology

Origin of scrub typhus

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Leptospirosis and scrub typhus are bacterial infections, while malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2021

Robert S. Fink, from New York, who died on his 25th birthday in 1944 from scrub typhus at the 2nd Station Hospital in Papua New Guinea.

From Fox News • Feb. 11, 2020

In one region, herpesvirus, typhoid fever, and leptospirosis might be the top culprits, whereas dengue, scrub typhus, and Japanese encephalitis might be more common in another.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 7, 2018

An outbreak of scrub typhus, a mite-borne disease that causes high fevers, sickened dozens of the hospital’s personnel and killed eight.

From Washington Times • Mar. 4, 2016

It is also known as scrub typhus, is related to epidemic typhus.

From Time Magazine Archive