They believe that a microbial agent called Orientia tsutsugamushi which is part of the typhus virus may be responsible. If successful, typhus could be used to provide a cheap alternative to the combination drug therapies which are currently available. The vast majority of the 34m in the world who suffer from HIV or Aids cannot afford expensive combination drug treatments. If antibodies of scrub typhus were used to fight HIV it potentially could be a very inexpensive method. So there is tremendous motivation for the scrub typhus to work.
Scrub typhus is most common in east Asia and the western Pacific.
It is transmitted via the bite of the larval trombiculid mite and while it can be fatal it can be treated with drugs if caught early.