【藥師說給你聽】阿娟訪臺北市立聯合醫院仁愛院區藥劑科黃厚軒藥師談清明掃墓別犯忌！高燒別當中邪，小心恙蟲病上身

·13 min·1 clip

Untreated tsutsugamushi disease has a mortality rate over 10%, but early treatment with antibiotics can reduce it to 5%.

The episode is an interview segment titled "Pharmacist Tells You" from the show Police Radio Taipei FM94.3. Host A-Juan interviews Pharmacist Huang Houxuan from Taipei City Hospital Ren'ai Branch. They focus on tsutsugamushi disease, linking it to the Qingming Festival season when people visit graves outdoors. Huang explains that tsutsugamushi mites are tiny arachnids, and only the larval stage transmits the disease. The pathogen is Orientia tsutsugamushi, a bacteria with virus-like characteristics that cannot be cultured in labs. Symptoms include a 9-12 day incubation period, fever up to 39°C, and an eschar at the bite site. Complications can be severe, with untreated mortality rates over 10%, but timely antibiotic treatment lowers it to 5%. The disease is a Category 4 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan, requiring reporting within a week. Prevention strategies involve personal protection like tucking pants into socks, wearing light-colored clothes, and using insect repellent on exposed skin. High-risk groups include outdoor workers, farmers, and those in endemic areas like Hualien and Taitung. Treatment typically uses tetracycline or chloramphenicol antibiotics, even for children and pregnant women under medical supervision. The episode emphasizes the importance of seeking medical attention if symptoms appear after outdoor exposure. It concludes with reminders to maintain hygiene and inform doctors of potential exposure history.

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