Dengue vs Scrub Typhus: How a Campus Panic Exposed India's Fever Diagnosis Gaps

A 20-year-old Anna University student's death was initially misattributed to dengue, sparking campus-wide panic, but Tamil Nadu's Public Health Department clarified he died of scrub typhus — a vector-borne disease often misdiagnosed as dengue. The department's X post stated: "Diagnosis: scrub typhus. No dengue diagnosis. It's a single reported case." Social media and TV channels had reported a dengue outbreak with three deaths, triggering a rush of 80 students daily to...