Role of Scrub Typhus in Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Gorakhpur and its Effective Management

Rajni Kant

Rajni Kant Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India.

Keywords: Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), Japanese Encephalitis (JE), JE Vaccine, Scrub Typhus, Effective Management, Gorakhpur

Abstract

Gorakhpur region in eastern Uttar Pradesh has been known for acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) with severe morbidity and mortality along with an outbreak having more than 5000 cases in 2005. BRD Medical College was the only tertiary care hospital and it was overflooded during the peak season. With the introduction of live attenuated JE vaccine (SA-14-14-2) in the area, the cases of JE came down but AES remained unaffected majorly. Further investigation revealed Scrub Typhus as the major aetiology contributing to around 50% of the AES cases. Early diagnosis of the acute febrile illness and early treatment with azithromycin and doxycycline along with improvement of health care services at PHCs, CHCs and district Hospital level and inter-departmental coordination helped in reducing the incidence of AES as well as mortality by more than 90%. The challenge remains to sustain the achievements gained as well as to identify the remaining 20-30% unknown aetiology to win the final war against this scourge.

How to cite this article:
Kant R. Role of Scrub Typhus in Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Gorakhpur and its Effective Management. XIV Annual Conference of Indian Society for Malaria & Other Communicable Diseases (ISMOCD). 2023;90-94.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202342

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