Four people have died from scrub typhus in Nepal’s Salyan district over the past three weeks, while more than 100 others have tested positive as the outbreak continues to spread.

Axar.az reports, citing the Kathmandu Post, that the cases have been recorded in Darma Rural Municipality, where health facilities are now detecting three to four new cases a day. Some patients have been referred to hospitals in Dang and Nepalgunj for treatment.

Yagya Bahadur Basnet, chief of the rural municipality’s health section, said three people died in late August and another died while receiving treatment at hospitals in Dang and Nepalgunj. All four had tested positive for scrub typhus.

The municipality, together with the District Health Office, has been conducting health camps and rapid testing in affected areas. More than 100 people have tested positive so far.

Health officials have urged residents with persistent fever to seek medical attention rather than self-medicate.

Scrub typhus is transmitted through the bites of infected chiggers, tiny mites commonly found in vegetation. The risk increases during the monsoon, when people spend more time in grassy and forested areas for farming and other activities.

Officials have expanded health services and treatment in affected areas but say the outbreak has not yet been fully brought under control.