|
|
Article: Spring scrub typhus, people's Republic of China.(LETTERS)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- September 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
To the Editor: Pingtan Island, in the eastern Fujian Province, People's Republic of China, has been a traditional focus of summer scrub typhus. In the early 1950s, the health of the residents was compromised by scrub typhus, with an incidence of 1,000 cases/100,000 population and a case-fatality rate of 13.6%. With the understanding of the pathogen and application of effective treatments (1,2), the epidemic was brought under control. Documentation showed that from 1960 through 1990, the annual incidence of scrub typhus maintained a level of 50-100 cases/year. Since 1990, cases have decreased sharply.
The usual epidemic season for scrub typhus on the island was ...