What does "tsutsugamushi" mean?

A form of typhus caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and transmitted by chiggers.

How do you pronounce "tsutsugamushi"?

Pronounced //tsutsuɡæmuːʃiː//.

Common synonyms include: japanese flood fever, japanese river fever, kedani, kedani, scrub typhus, scrub typhus.

//tsutsuɡæmuːʃiː// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A form of typhus caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and transmitted by chiggers. uncountable

From Japanese つつがむし (tsutsugamushi, “chigger”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.