Research progress on the epidemiology of tsutsugamushi disease of summer type in China / 预防医学

ABSTRACT

@#Tsutsugamushi disease, also known as scrub typhus, is a zoonosis caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, with rats as the main sources of infection and chigger mites as the only medium of transmission, and has no effective vaccines. Tsutsugamushi disease can be divided into summer, autumn and winter types according to seasons in China, while the summer type is characterized by strong virulence, typical and severe symptoms, high rates of misdiagnosis and mortality. The summer type of tsutsugamushi disease is distributed in the south of 31°N in China, with the epidemic time from June to August, and the cases are predominantly females, farmers and people at ages of over 40 years. Affected by natural environment, social and economic factors, the epidemic areas and the number of cases of summer type of tsutsugamushi disease are increasing continuously. Based on publications pertaining to the epidemiology of summer type of tsutsugamushi disease in China from 1960 to 2023, this review summarizes the mechanism of transmission, epidemiological characteristics and influencing factors, so as to provide the basis for prevention and control of summer type of tsutsugamushi disease in China.