Many cases of the rare and till now unknown disease Rickettsial were reported in parts of Indi and Sindagi taluk of Bijapur district, said paediatrician Dr L H Bidari. Addressing reporters here on Monday he said that the disease was so unknown in the country that there were not many cases reported and even there were no laboratories where the blood samples of such patients could be tested.  

Rickettsial fever is an acute febrile, zoonotic disease spread by bite of ticks or mites. The infection manifests as non-specific febrile illness which would sometimes be accompanied by gastrointestinal, respiratory or central nervous system manifestations. Illness could be in apparent or severe form and death is reported to occur in 1% to 30% of untreated cases, revealed Dr Bidari. 

Listing the symptoms of the disease he said that there could be fever, rash, oedema, altered sensorium, convulsions, joint pain , hepatosplenomegaly, seizures, myocarditis, upper GI bleeding and pneumonia .

Diagnosis and surveillance of this disease would  be challenging, particularly in the absence of advanced laboratory techniques or due to expensive tests.  Rickettsial diseases might pose a serious public health problem, if not diagnosed or misdiagnosed, said Dr Bidari and added that such symptoms like rash is characteristic of non-confluent maculopapular rash involving palms and soles and also purpuric. There would be a possibility of misdiagnosing the disease as ordinary measles as the early symptoms  of Rickettsial closely resemble that of the measles, he said.