Murine typhus
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Murine typhus | |
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Other names | Endemic typhus |
Infectious disease |
Murine typhus, also known as endemic typhus or flea-borne typhus, is a form of
Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of endemic typhus include headache, fever, muscle pain, joint pain, nausea and vomiting. 40–50% of patients will develop a discrete rash six days after the onset of signs. Up to 45% will develop neurological signs such as confusion, stupor, seizures or imbalance.
Symptoms may resemble those of measles, rubella, or possibly Rocky Mountain spotted fever. These symptoms are likely caused by a vasculitis caused by the rickettsia.
Causes
It is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia typhi, and is transmitted by the fleas that infest rats. While rat fleas are the most common vectors, cat fleas and mouse fleas are less common modes of transmission. These fleas are not affected by the infection. Human infection occurs because of flea-fecal contamination of the bites on human skin. Rats, cats, and opossums maintain the rickettsia colonization by providing it with a host for its entire life cycle. Rats can develop the infection, and help spread the infection to other fleas that bite them, and help multiply the number of infected fleas that can then infect humans.
Less often, endemic typhus is caused by Rickettsia felis and transmitted by fleas carried by cats or opossums.
In the United States of America, murine typhus is found most commonly in southern California,[4] Texas and Hawaii. In some studies, up to 13% of children were found to have serological evidence of infection.[5]
Diagnosis
As of 2014[update], early diagnosis continued to be based on clinical suspicion, and treatment of the disease is indicated even before laboratory results confirm its presence. Because of the lag between the onset of infection and the appearance of antibodies in a blood test, serologic tests are merely confirmatory and retrospective.
Treatment
The disease can be fatal if left untreated, but endemic typhus is highly treatable with antibiotics. Most people recover fully, but death may occur in the elderly, severely disabled or patients with a depressed immune system. The most effective antibiotics include tetracycline and chloramphenicol. In the United States, the CDC recommends solely doxycycline.[7]
See also
References
- ISBN 978-94-017-9876-1, retrieved 2021-02-27
- ^ "Flea-borne (murine) typhus". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
- ^ "Epidemic typhus". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
- ^ "Murine (endemic) Typhus" (PDF). California Department of Public Health. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (Impact Factor: 3.57). 07/2000; 19(6):535−8.
- ISBN 978-0-323-26373-3.
- ^ "Murine Typhus". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.