The Assam health department has decided to shut down the Covid-19 hospital at Sarusajai in Guwahati for the next 15 days following the detection of new cases of bacterial infection named “Scrub Typhus” in the hospital.
The hospital, set up by DRDO, was inaugurated on June 10 and was constructed at a cost of Rs 22 crores.
Sources said a total of 29 cases of “Scrub Typhus” infections are detected in the hospital.
At least three doctors including the superintendent of the hospital, Rajpratim Das, some nurses and health workers have been infected by the bacteria besides some Covid-19 patients.
It is a bacterial infection, which leads to the death of people and some of its symptoms are similar to Chikungunya.
In scrub typhus, the patient experiences fever with difficulty in breathing, jaundice, vomiting, nausea, joint pain or shivering.
But in cases of severe infection, lumps are seen to develop on the neck, under the arms and above the hips.
Apart from this, the area or body part where the insect has bitten turns red.
According to health experts, permethrin and benzyl benzoate should be sprayed on clothes and bedding to avoid this.
Along with this, if someone is found to have symptoms of scrub typhus, the person should be admitted to the hospital immediately so that the treatment could be started at the earliest.