Case report illustrates cerebellitis from scrub typhus in a 25-year-old woman, suggesting rare neurological outcomes.
Scrub typhus is an infectious rickettsial disease caused by the bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi, transmitted through the bite of chigger mites. This illness can manifest in various ways, ranging from a simple tropical fever to complex multi-organ dysfunction, encompassing acute liver failure, renal failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, myocarditis, septic cardiomyopathies, secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) among others. While neurological complications can arise in scrub typhus, the exact frequency remains uncertain. One rarely reported neurological complication associated with this condition is cerebellitis. In this specific case report, we detail the clinical experience of a 25-year-old woman who presented with fever and substantial cerebellar dysfunction and was diagnosed with scrub typhus based on serological test ,specifically an IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) blood test. Notably, her MRI scan and blood investigations revealed no abnormalities, and she responded well to antimicrobial and steroid therapy, ultimately experiencing a full recovery without any complications.
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Mohan et al. (2025) studied this question.
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