Kathmandu, Aug. 27 -- Of the 23 fever patients tested at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital on Tuesday, 10 or 44 percent were diagnosed with scrub typhus.

Doctors at the hospital termed the positivity rate alarmingly high.

And what concerns them more is that a significant number of infected patients are from the Kathmandu Valley. Until a few years ago, it was believed that only those residing in rural areas or those working in grasslands or fields were at high risk.

"Positivity rate above 30 percent indicates a high transmission level, meaning there is widespread exposure to the potentially deadly disease," said Dr Yuba Nidhi Basaula, director at the hospital. "If patients do not get timely treatment, the disease affects...