Detection and molecular identification of scrub typhus vectors and pathogens from rice field rats, a traditional food item of Mizo tribes in Mizoram, Northeast India.

Background & Objectives: Orientia tsutsugamushi, a bacterial pathogen of scrub typhus, is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected chigger mites, and rodents are the natural hosts of the disease vector. The traditional practices of the tribal ethnic groups (Mizo) of Mizoram state such as capturing and consumption of rat meat collected from the agricultural fields could be one source of vector-disease transmission route. The present study aimed to detect and identify the pathogen of scrub typhus from vectors collected from rice field rats which were captured by farmers for meat consumption purposes.