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Volume 32, Number 2—February 2026

Research

Leptotrombidium imphalum Chiggers as Vector for Scrub Typhus in Human Settlements, India, 2022–2023

Carol S. Devamani, Neal Alexander, Rawadee Kumlert, Benjamin L. Makepeace, Serge Morand, Mary Cameron, Alexandr A. Stekolnikov, Winsley Rose, Daniel Chandramohan, Punam Mangtani, Kundavaram P.P. Abhilash, and Wolf-Peter SchmidtComments to Author 
Author affiliation: Christian Medical College, Vellore, India (C.S. Devamani, W. Rose, K.P.P. Abhilash); London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK (N. Alexander, M. Cameron, D. Chandramohan, P. Mangtani, W.-P. Schmidt); Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand (R. Kumlert); University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK (B.L. Makepeace); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France–Kasetsart University and Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand (S. Morand); Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia (A.A. Stekolnikov)

Main Article

Figure 1

Correlation of trapping success with seasonal characteristics in study of Leptotrombidium imphalum chiggers as vector for scrub typhus in human settlements, India, 2022–2023. A) Monthly small mammal catches per trap night, by habitat (center of village, edge of village, or field outside village), compared with numbers of monthly human scrub typhus cases. Case numbers adapted from Devamani et al. (13). B) Monthly rainfall (blue bars) and average daily temperature (orange line) 1991–2021. Source: India Meteorological Department (https://mausam.imd.gov.in). Scales for the y-axes differ substantially to underscore patterns but do not permit direct comparisons.

Figure 1. Correlation of trapping success with seasonal characteristics in study of Leptotrombidium imphalum chiggers as vector for scrub typhus in human settlements, India, 2022–2023. A) Monthly small mammal catches per trap night, by habitat (center of village, edge of village, or field outside village), compared with numbers of monthly human scrub typhus cases. Case numbers adapted from Devamani et al. (13). B) Monthly rainfall (blue bars) and average daily temperature (orange line) 1991–2021. Source: India Meteorological Department (https://mausam.imd.gov.in). Scales for the y-axes differ substantially to underscore patterns but do not permit direct comparisons.

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