a disease of the Asiatic-Pacific area, transmitted to humans by the bite of the larva of a mite (esp. Trombicula akamushi) and caused by a rickettsia (Rickettsia tsutsugamushi): it is characterized by fever and a rash
See scrub typhus in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
An acute infectious disease common in Asia that is caused by the rickettsia Rickettsia tsutsugamushi transmitted by mites and that is characterized by sudden fever, painful swelling of the lymphatic glands, skin lesions, and skin rash. Also called Japanese river fever, tsutsugamushi disease.