Scrub typhus,infection with Orientia tsutsugamushi due to the bite by larvae of chigger mites,is an ancient vector-borne disease in Southeast Asia. During the World War Ⅱ,the disease occurred frequently in army in Southeast Asia and caused a lot of casualties, arousing great concern. After World War Ⅱ,reported scrub typhus cases gradually decreased, however, since 1980s,the incidence of scrub typhus has showed an upward trend, and the geographical distribution has also expanded. Currently, the incidence of scrub typhus is high in most traditional endemic counties in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and North Oceania (i.e. tsutsugamushi triangle). In recent years, scrub typhus cases and animal infection also emerged in Middle East, Africa, South America and even Europe. Given the increased incidence of scrub typhus in China, it is suggested to re-classified it as notifiable disease to reduce the disease burden in China.%恙虫病是由恙螨叮咬而感染恙虫病东方体引起的一种媒介生物性传染病,主要在亚洲东南部地区流行.第二次世界大战期间,恙虫病在军队中的流行导致部队大量减员而受到重视,二战后其相关报道逐渐减少.自20世纪80年代开始,恙虫病的发病率呈上升趋势,且分布范围不断扩大.目前,恙虫病不仅在传统流行地区发病率上升,且发病地区不断扩大,甚至在中东、非洲、南美洲和欧洲等非传染病流行地区或国家开始出现病例或动物感染,可能成为当地新发传染病.鉴于我国恙虫病发病率呈上升趋势,建议将其重新列为我国法定报告传染病,以降低其在我国造成的疾病负担.
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