Scrub typhus reemergence in the Maldives.

In summer 2002, an outbreak of febrile illness began in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Through April 2003, officials recorded 168 cases with 10 deaths. The Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Bangkok confirmed Orientia tsutsugamushi and conducted a joint investigation with the Ministry of Health, Maldives. These cases of scrub typhus were the first in the Maldives since World War II.