Scrub typhus disease worries armed forces

Concerned over mites and ticks threatening the health of troops on the borders, the Army is training doctors and paramedics at the Armed Forces Medical College here to identify and prevent the scrub typhus disease.

Concerned over mites and ticks threatening the health of troops on the borders, the Army is training doctors and paramedics at the Armed Forces Medical College AFMC here to identify and prevent the scrub typhus disease.

Troops are deployed over a vast stretch of the subcontinent, in diverse terrain. The ecological conditions make the soldiers susceptible to various diseases and over the years there has been renewed interest in scrub typhus. Outbreaks of the disease have been reported from Jammu and the North-East region, said Lt Col Rajvir Bhalwar, Head of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, AFMC.

Rodents are the reservoirs of this disease and while high priority had been allocated to the disease half a century ago with the formation of the field typhus research teams, the price of subsequent complacency led to the death of a cadet from the Indian Military Academy IMA in 1992.

There have been outbreaks in areas located in the sub-Himalayan belt, from Jammu to Nagaland, in the last few years and these reports have led the armed forces to work out more strategies to combat the bug.

The crucial task of mapping the high-risk areas prone to scrub typhus was entrusted to the Division of Entomology at AFMC which serves as the referral centre for vector borne diseases in the armed forces. Dr Rina Tilak, Scientist E with the Defence Research Development Organisation DRDO posted at AFMC along with Col Bhalwar are now working on the project. The project commenced last year and commanders of the units at eight stations have been provided with a list of dos and don8217;ts.

For instance, doctors and paramedical staff have been trained to trap rodents, screen them for vectors, dissect them and take their organs and blood for serological surveillance.

The material is then transported to the AFMC where the results are analysed to help develop a database correlated with sero surveillance. 8220;We also ensure that soldiers do not restrict to topical application of repellents but they are applied on the uniform as well,8221; said Tilak. Fever is a symptom of the disease and if not treated, it can even lead to multi-organ failure and death.