A 17-year-old girl of Syalaphakha-2 in Rukum died of scrub typhus on Thursday during treatment at Kapurkot in Salyan, taking the death toll from the disease to 10 across the country in the last six months. 

She had undergone treatment in Kathmandu after being diagnosed with the disease two months ago. After three weeks of treatment, she was discharged from the hospital. But her condition deteriorated later at her home, said Keshav Rawal, an uncle of the deceased. 

Cases of scrub typhus have been reported in Chitwan, Sankhuwasabha, Kailali, Bhojpur, Tanahun and Gulmi, according to the data of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. Chitwan, with at least 309 reported cases in the past six months, has the highest rate of infection. 

Scrub typhus is a bacterial disease caused by intracellular parasite Orientia tsutsugamushi. The disease is transmitted to humans and rodents by some species of trombiculid mites.