Background:
Scrub typhus is an infectious disease with potentially fatal consequences. It is caused by Orientiatsutsugamushi and transmitted to humans via the bites of infected larval mites (chiggers).
Scrub typhus is oneof the most neglected and severe diseases despite its easy treatment. Delay in diagnosis and treatment is notuncommon, resulting in a ۱۰% fatality rate in cases of inappropriate treatment. The main aim of this study wasto determine the prevalence of scrub typhus in Southeast Asia and the risk factors contributing to the disease inorder to aid the development of effective control and prevention strategies.Methods: In this meta-analysis, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA)were used as a guideline. The systematic literature search was performed for the relevant titles, abstracts, andkeywords in the journal databases of PubMed, EBSCOhost, Ovid, and Google Scholar in November ۲۰۱۸. Thekeywords and terms were derived from population, intervention, comparison, outcome analysis, and a totalof ۷۲۰ studies were retrieved accordingly. Only original research, published articles, and articles written inthe English language were selected for this purpose. Screening of abstracts had shortlisted ۳۶ studies and dataextraction was conducted accordingly. However, only ۹ studies were accepted after a review of the full texts.The other ۲۷ articles were excluded due to ecological studies and different outcome measures.Results: Several factors in this meta-analysis were identified to have significant risk of having scrub typhus(P < ۰.۰۵), including people who are involved in the agriculture sector (OR: ۲.۹۰, ۹۵% CI: ۲.۳۳, ۳.۷۷), thosehaving direct contact or being exposed to the vector habitat (OR: ۲.۱۷, ۹۵% CI: ۱.۴۹, ۳.۱۶), and house yardconditions (OR: ۳.۰۲, ۹۵% CI: ۲.۱, ۴.۳۳). Other factors were indoor house conditions (OR: ۱.۹۶, ۹۵% CI:۱.۴۵, ۲.۶۷), those having close contact with rodents or domestic animals (OR: ۲.۵۱, ۹۵% CI: ۱.۶۷, ۳.۷۷),those working in paddy fields or vegetable farms (OR: ۵.۱۷, ۹۵% CI: ۳.۱۵, ۸.۴۷), and bad occupational safetypractices (OR: ۱.۷۱, ۹۵% CI: ۱.۱۲, ۲.۶۲).Conclusions: The identified risk factors from this meta-analysis highlight the importance of public healthintervention strategies for the prevention of scrub typhus among high-risk populations.