Question:

All of the following statements about scrub typhus are true, except:

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Only the larval chigger bites, not the adult mite.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
  • Caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi
  • Mites act as reservoirs
  • Transmitted when adult mites feed on hosts
  • Tetracycline is the drug of choice
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Scrub typhus is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, formerly Rickettsia tsutsugamushi. So that statement is correct.
Step 2: The trombiculid mite is both the vector and the reservoir, because the organism passes from one generation of mites to the next through transovarial transmission. So mites as reservoirs is correct.
Step 3: Only the larval stage of the mite, called the chigger, bites a vertebrate host and transmits infection. The adult mite does not feed on people. So the statement that transmission occurs when adult mites feed is false, and this is the exception.
Step 4: Tetracycline, or doxycycline, is the drug of choice for scrub typhus, so that statement is correct.
The correct answer is option C.
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