Disease overview

Bacterial

Typhus

流行性和地方性斑疹伤寒

Evidence-backed informationEN 7/7 applicable sections · ZH 7/7 applicable sectionsUpdated Sep 3, 2026

Typhus in this payload is represented by two evidence streams: scrub typhus, caused by *Orientia tsutsugamushi*, and endemic typhus (murine typhus) as identified in pediatric reference metadata ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]. The sources support that scrub typhus is a major public health problem in the Asia-Pacific area, while typhus more broadly has been historically among the major infectious causes of death in England ^[1]^[5]. Source-backed detail for several subtype-specific features is not yet available from the provided snippets.

Read the full clinical and epidemiological profile8

Definition

The provided sources link the disease label to typhus syndromes spanning scrub typhus and endemic typhus (murine typhus), with scrub typhus specifically caused by *Orientia tsutsugamushi* ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]. The rickettsial literature in the payload describes rickettsioses as illnesses caused by small, obligately intracellular, gram-negative bacilli distributed among hematophagous arthropod vectors ^[6]. The snippets do not provide enough source-backed detail to distinguish the etiologic characterization of every typhus subtype under the label used in this record ^[1]^[6].

Clinical features

For scrub typhus, the source notes that illness can be severe and may progress to multiorgan failure, with a case fatality rate up to 70% without appropriate treatment ^[1]. More generally, rickettsioses are described as an acute undifferentiated febrile illness, often accompanied by headache, myalgias, and malaise ^[6]. Cutaneous manifestations such as rash and eschar are noted in rickettsioses, although their incidence varies by infecting species ^[6]. Additional disease-course detail specific to the typhus label in this payload is not yet available from the snippets ^[1]^[6].

Epidemiology

Scrub typhus is described as a serious public health problem in the Asia-Pacific area, with an estimated global threat to one billion people and about one million illnesses each year ^[1]. The same source characterizes it as a neglected disease with sporadic epidemiologic data in endemic areas and mentions both long-standing endemic areas and recently recognized foci of infection ^[1]. A separate historical review identifies typhus among the major infectious causes of death in England before the 20th century ^[5]. More specific surveillance burden, current country-level distribution, or outbreak pattern for the typhus label as a whole is not yet available from the supplied material ^[1]^[5].

Transmission

The rickettsial review states that rickettsiae are distributed among a variety of hematophagous arthropod vectors, which is the clearest source-backed transmission context provided in this payload ^[6].

Risk groups

The supplied sources do not name specific high-risk groups for typhus or scrub typhus in a way that can be safely generalized from the snippets alone ^[1]^[6]. The only source-backed exposure context is association with hematophagous arthropod vectors, which implies risk is linked to relevant vector exposure rather than to a clearly enumerated demographic group ^[6]. Any further risk-group specification is not yet available from the provided material ^[1]^[6].

Prevention

The historical review emphasizes that preventive measures, public health interventions, and changes in behavior reduced the risk of severe infections, and it highlights the importance of surveillance, prevention, and control for infectious diseases ^[5].

Surveillance note

In monitoring contexts, this disease should be read cautiously because the payload merges a broad typhus label with source material on scrub typhus and endemic typhus metadata rather than a single fully described syndrome ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]. The available evidence supports treating it as a vector-associated febrile illness with potentially severe outcomes, while recognizing that the epidemiology is incompletely characterized in the snippets and that scrub typhus remains under-described in endemic settings ^[1]^[6]. Surveillance interpretation should therefore note the limited subtype resolution and the absence of source-backed detail for several operational attributes ^[1]^[5]. GlobalID source-data note: Language is decisive for this concept: German ‘Typhus’ or ‘Typhus abdominalis’ means typhoid fever and belongs on the typhoid page, whereas German ‘Fleckfieber’ and Norwegian ‘Flekktyfus’ denote rickettsial typhus. Generic source labels should be read with their country and original language.

References

1Xu G et al. A review of the global epidemiology of scrub typhus. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017 Nov. PMID: 29099844. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006062.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29099844/
2Endemic Typhus (Murine Typhus). Red Book (2018). 2018. doi: 10.1542/9781610021470-part03-endemic.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/9781610021470-part03-endemic
3Endemic Typhus (Murine Typhus). Red Book (2012). 2012. doi: 10.1542/9781581107357-part03-endemic.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/9781581107357-part03-endemic
4Endemic Typhus (Murine Typhus). Red Book Atlas of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 3rd Ed. 2016. doi: 10.1542/9781610020619-ch149.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/9781610020619-ch149
5Mercer A et al. Protection against severe infectious disease in the past. Pathog Glob Health. 2021 May. PMID: 33573529. doi: 10.1080/20477724.2021.1878443.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33573529/
6Blanton LS et al. The Rickettsioses: A Practical Update. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2019 Mar. PMID: 30712763. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2018.10.010.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30712763/
7Wikipedia contributors. Typhus - Wikipedia [Internet]. Wikipedia. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhus

Coding Register

ICD-10: A75
ICD-11: 1C30

Key Statistics

Total cases: 20K
Total deaths: 5
Peak month: 2011-10
Coverage: 3 reporting countries · 1997-01-01 → 2026-07-01

Coverage

Reporting countries and regions

3 locations

Trends by reporting country

Monthly patterns over time

Research Radar

Recent related research

View all research →

Peer reviewedTyphusDiagnostics

DOI 10.25259/aujmsr_46_2026 ↗

Seroprevalence of scrub typhus among reported acute febrile illness

Aditi Kothari, Sheetal Jain, Parul Chaturvedi +1 more

Adesh University Journal of Medical Sciences & ResearchAug 22, 2026

Typhus surveillance →

Peer reviewedOpen accessTyphoid feverTreatment

DOI 10.1016/s1473-3099(26)00358-0 ↗

Azithromycin with or without cefixime for suspected or culture-confirmed uncomplicated typhoid fever in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (ACT-South Asia): a double-blind, parallel-group, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 4 trial

Buddha Basnyat, Sudeep Adhikari, Puja Shrestha +155 more

The Lancet Infectious DiseasesAug 1, 2026

Open article ↗Typhoid fever surveillance →

Peer reviewedOpen accessTyphusTransmission dynamics

DOI 10.1136/bmjgh-2025-018998 ↗

Spatiotemporal epidemiology and clinical manifestations of two decades of scrub typhus in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Rini Chaturvedi, Syed Shah Areeb Hussain, Hayavadhan Sampath +3 more

BMJ Global HealthAug 3, 2025

Open article ↗Typhus surveillance →

Peer reviewedOpen accessTyphusVaccination

DOI 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005408 ↗

Diversification of Orientia tsutsugamushi genotypes by intragenic recombination and their potential expansion in endemic areas

Gwanghun Kim, Na-Young Ha, Chan-Ki Min +8 more

PLOS Neglected Tropical DiseasesMar 1, 2017

Open article ↗Typhus surveillance →

Literature links are provided for discovery and do not alter or validate the surveillance series above.

Rows7,335

Updated2026-09-01

Coverage—

Partitions7

Source3 series · 3,457 observations

Official sourcesAuthority, cadence, notes65

MONTHLYweb

Monthly notifiable infectious disease reports published by China CDC.

MONTHLYweb

Official China public health bulletin and query portal.

MONTHLYweb

Biomedical literature discovery feed used as supplementary context.