Nine patients suffering from scrub typhus, a disease caused by the bite of an infected mite, have been reported in Shimla.
"Nine more patients tested positive for scrub typhus Wednesday," Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH) medical superintendent K.S. Rana said in Shimla.
Seventy-three patients suffering from the disease have been reported in the IGMCH this year, he said, and added that the arrival of scrub typhus patients would continue till end of October.
Forty-four deaths were reported in the state in the past two years due to the disease. However, in the IGMCH no death has been reported so far.
"As many as 1,206 scrub typhus cases were reported in the state in the last two years. Of these, 948 cases were reported last year," state Health Minister Rajeev Bindal informed the assembly March 31.
He said 27 patients died in 2010 whereas 17 died in 2009 due to the disease.
The symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, muscle pain, cough and gastroenteritis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines).