Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41721445›Full record

ArticleOne health outlook2026

Epidemiology and risk factors in a scrub typhus cluster in Odisha, India, 2023: Investigating with a One Health approach.

Arushi Ghai, Dhanalaxmi Lolach Balaga, Srividya K Vedachalam, Sushma Choudhary, Kahnu Charan Nayak, Manisha Biswal, Taruna Kaura, Abhishek Mewara, Meenakshi Rana, Tanzin Dikid

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in One health outlook, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Arushi GhaiEpidemiology Division, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, 110054, India. drarushighai@gmail.com.
Dhanalaxmi Lolach BalagaEpidemiology Division, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, 110054, India.
Srividya K VedachalamSouth Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology Network, Inc. (SAFETYNET), New Delhi, India.
Sushma ChoudharySouth Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology Network, Inc. (SAFETYNET), New Delhi, India.
Kahnu Charan NayakDistrict Surveillance Unit, Sundargarh, Odisha, India.
Manisha BiswalPost Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.
Taruna KauraPost Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.
Abhishek MewaraPost Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.
Meenakshi RanaPost Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India.
Tanzin DikidEpidemiology Division, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, 110054, India.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionScrub Typhus accounts for approximately one-fourth of all acute undifferentiated febrile illness cases in India. In September 2023, Odisha, an eastern Indian state, reported several scrub typhus deaths. We investigated a scrub typhus cluster in Block-A, Odisha, to describe the epidemiology and assess risk factors. METHODOLOGY: We conducted an unmatched (1:1) case-control investigation. Line-list of scrub typhus IgM-ELISA tested individuals was collected from the district laboratory. Cases were defined as scrub typhus IgM-ELISA positive residents of Block-A between July1 and October30, 2023 and controls were test-negative block-A residents. We interviewed cases and controls from list of tested individuals for socio-demographic, clinical and exposure histories. We present adjusted-odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals. We conducted an entomological survey in Block-A, isolated mites to detect pathogen and strain (47kDa Real Time PCR) and report entomological indices.

resultsTotal 151 cases were reported in 2023 in Block-A, with case-fatality rate of 2.6%, median age 30 years, and inter-quartile range 15–46 years. Among the 61 interviewed cases, 46% were hospitalised, 13% admitted in ICU, 16% visited health-facility in second week of symptom onset and 30% were tested in second week of symptom-onset. We enrolled 61 cases and 61 controls, among whom recent farm/forest visit was significantly associated [adjusted OR = 6.1, 95%CI: 2.0-18.4] with illness on multivariate analysis. Chigger-index for block-A was 18.94(322/17); 36%(4/11) of tested mite-pools were positive for Orientia tsutsugamushi and sequences were identified to be Karp-like.

conclusionsOur investigation confirmed a lab-verified scrub typhus cluster in Block-A, identifying farm/forest visits without protective clothing as the most significant factor for acquiring infection. Detection of infected vector, hosts, and pathogen completed the epidemiological triad of scrub typhus, establishing local transmission in Block-A. We sensitised frontline-healthcare workers on early identification and timely referral, recommended community education on limiting mite exposure and seeking timely medical attention.

Indexed as

IndiaOne healthOrientia tsutsugamushiOutbreak investigationRisk factorsScrub typhusZoonoses

Identifiers

PMID41721445
PMCPMC12973871

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.