Scrub typhus in the Northern Territory: exceeding the boundaries of Litchfield National Park.

Abstract

Scrub typhus is recognised as an important differential diagnosis of fever, rash and sepsis in patients with a history of travel to Litchfield National Park in the Top End of the Northern Territory. All confirmed scrub typhus cases to date from the Northern Territory have visited the Park, but the presence of similar rainforest pockets elsewhere in the Top End suggested further infectious locations might be identified with increased tourism. We report a case of serologically confirmed Orientia tsutsugamushi infection in a man who had not been within Litchfield Park, but had visited another discrete Top End rainforest area.