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Scrub typhus is a life-threatening disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, an obligate intracellular bacterium transmitted by the larvae of trombiculid mites (1). Only biting larvae of Asian scrub typhus chiggers [...]

Current risk communication literature includes guidelines regarding crises (1,2). Creating and distributing risk-mitigation information amid a nexus of emotion, public health threats, a journalistic tendency toward sensationalism, and misinformation can [...]

Scrub typhus, a miteborne rickettsiosis, has emerged in many areas globally. We analyzed the incidence and spatial-temporal distribution of scrub typhus in China during 1952-1989 and 2006-2016 using national disease surveillance data. A total of 133,623 cases and 174 deaths were recorded. The average annual incidence was 0.13 cases/100,000 population during 1952-1989; incidence increased sharply from 0.09/100,000 population in 2006 to 1.60/100,000 population in 2016. The disease, historically endemic to southern China, has expanded to all the provinces across both rural and urban areas. We identified 3 distinct seasonal patterns nationwide; infections peaked in summer in the southwest, summer-autumn in the southeast, and autumn in the middle-east. Persons >40 years of age and in nonfarming occupations had a higher risk for death. The changing epidemiology of scrub typhus in China warrants an enhanced disease control and prevention program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]