Five people in Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu province have been diagnosed with scrub typhus, a disease that killed two females in Guangzhou this year.

Four patients were treated at Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University. Wang Xihua, deputy director of the hospital's department of respiratory diseases, said scrub typhus is a type of acute infectious disease caused by the chigger, a tiny mite usually found in Southern China, including Guangdong and Yunnan provinces.

Doctors suggest that people protect themselves when taking part in outdoor activities by wearing long-sleeved clothing and by avoiding sitting on the ground.