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Case Reports
. 2025 Jul 12;25(1):340.
doi: 10.1186/s12890-025-03827-2.

Pneumonia due to scrub typhus infection: a case report

Zhiguang Wang  1 , Yuhua Piao  1 , Zhongjian An  1 , Hongmei Piao  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Pneumonia due to scrub typhus infection: a case report

Zhiguang Wang et al. BMC Pulm Med. .

Abstract

Background: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by the rickettsial bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi, transmitted to humans through infected mite bites. Patients typically present with sudden onset high fever, headache, myalgia, and eschar formation at the site of the bites. Respiratory symptoms, such as cough and shortness of breath, can also occur, especially in severe cases that lead to pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This report presents a case of scrub typhus pneumonia, diagnosed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF).

Case presentation: A 58-year-old woman was admitted with cough, sputum production, and fever. Imaging revealed pneumonia. During hospitalization, bronchoscopy was performed to identify the causative pathogen. mNGS of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid confirmed Orientia tsutsugamushi infection. Patient's pneumonia was improved after oral administration of doxycycline(100 mg two times daily) for 1 month.

Conclusion: This report highlights the diagnostic challenges of scrub typhus-induced pneumonia and demonstrates usefulness and the advantages of mNGS in identifying rare pathogens.

Keywords: Case report; Pneumonia; Scrub typhus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This case report was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Yanbian University, ethics committee approval number:2025142. Consent to participate: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of images and personal information for this case report. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Imaging changes of chest CT in patients with pneumonia
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