Beware if you have squirrels or mice around your house, three cases of scrub typhus reported 

ALAPPUZHA: The district health department has issued an alert after three cases of scrub typhus was reported in the district. Scrub typhus is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi. Scrub typhus is spread to people through bites of infected chiggers (larval mites). They are commonly found in animals such as rats, squirrels, and rabbits that nibbles. The symptoms appear 10 to 12 days after the flea bites a person. The bitten area will initially appear as a small red mark and later turns into a black sore.

Symptoms
Fever, headache, body aches, dry cough, rashes etc.

Keep away pets

If babies play in the mud, make sure to wash their hands with soap and keep them away from pets.

Wear clothes covering the body when playing or working on grass. Be sure to wear personal protective equipment (gum boots, socks). Do not dry clothes on a bush or on the ground.

Clean up the bushes around the house. Don't forget to scrub your body with hot water and soap and wash your clothes after coming back from the meadows or forest.