Typhus

Spread by mites, fleas and lice. Unrelated to typhoid despite the name.

Is typhus worse than usual anywhere?

At or below its usual in every country that reports it.

A fever illness caused by bacteria. In South and South-East Asia the most common kind is scrub typhus, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi.

Signs: Fever, often with headache, muscle aches, rash, swollen glands or red eyes. Some people get a dark scab where they were bitten.
How it spreads: Scrub typhus is spread by the bite of tiny young mites called chiggers. Other kinds of typhus are spread by lice.
How to protect yourself: Avoid bites from mites and lice. Local health services can say how best to do that where you live.
Get medical help: See a health worker for a fever with a dark scab or rash. The antibiotic doxycycline works well, but untreated scrub typhus can kill.

In Dooram's words, from the World Health Organization. Source: Scrub typhus outbreak report, WHO Western Pacific journal, 2014, read 8 October 2026. General information, not medical advice.

No district is above usual.

Each district against itself. A large district always has more cases than a small one, so each is compared only with its own usual.

Sri LankaUsually around December and January: it peaked then in 18 of the last 19 years.

Sources. Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, weekly report.