Rickettsialpox
Rickettsialpox | |
---|---|
Infectious disease | |
Prognosis | Resolves in 2-3 weeks without treatment |
Rickettsialpox is a mite-borne infectious illness caused by bacteria of the genus Rickettsia (Rickettsia akari).[1] Physician Robert Huebner and self-trained entomologist Charles Pomerantz played major roles in identifying the cause of the disease after an outbreak in 1946 in a New York City apartment complex, documented in "The Alerting of Mr. Pomerantz," an article by medical writer Berton Roueché.
Although it is not transmitted by a tick (a characteristic of spotted fever), the bacterium is a part of the spotted fever group of Rickettsia, and so this condition is often classified with that group.[2]
Signs and symptoms
The first symptom is a bump formed by the bite, eventually resulting in a black, crusty scab. Many of the symptoms are flu-like including fever, chills, weakness and achy muscles but the most distinctive symptom is the rash that breaks out, spanning the infected person's entire body.[3]
Transmission
The bacteria are originally found in mice and cause mites feeding on the mice (usually the house mouse) to become infected. Humans will get rickettsialpox when receiving a bite from an infected mite, not from the mice themselves.[citation needed]
The mite is Liponyssoides sanguineus, which was previously known as Allodermanyssus sanguineus.[2]
Treatment
Rickettsialpox is treated with tetracyclines (doxycycline is the drug of choice). Chloramphenicol is a suitable alternative.[4]
Prognosis
Rickettsialpox is generally mild and resolves within 2–3 weeks if untreated. There are no known deaths resulting from the disease.[citation needed]
Epidemiology
Those dwelling in urban areas (which typically experience rodent problems) have a higher risk of contracting rickettsialpox.[citation needed]
History
The initial outbreak of the disease took place in the Regency Park complex which had 69 apartment units organized in three groups each three stories in height, located in
Individuals would first have a small lesion at the site of the insect bite, which would eventually leave a small scar.
Many residents had reported the presence of mice in and around the apartments, especially in the basements of the buildings near the incinerators, where living and dead mice were found. Garbage disposed of through incinerator chutes was to be burned on a daily basis, with the ashes carted off by the
Public health officials took steps to prevent further outbreaks of the disease. The building operators were told to ensure that the incinerators were fired on a regular basis to ensure that food available to the mice that harbored the disease was eliminated as quickly and thoroughly as possible.[5] Pest control measures were undertaken through the New York City Department of Health and its commissioner Israel Weinstein to eliminate the mice in and around the buildings with the cooperation of property owners.[7]
Another 20 cases of rickettsialpox were discovered elsewhere in New York City during the investigation of the Queens outbreak, including 10 cases found in an apartment building in the Bronx that had originally been diagnosed as atypical chickenpox. Mice were found in the basement of this building, as well as mites belonging to the same class found in Queens.[5] In addition to the initial cases from the first outbreak in Queens, over 500 cases of the disease were diagnosed in New York City from 1947 to 1951.[8]
Society and culture
See also
References
- ^ "Rickettsialpox" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- ^ a b Smith DS, Zhang E, Lopez FA, Go CH, Ake JA, Whitman TJ, Alam MJ, Mada PK (2019-07-10). Talavera F, Sanders CV, Brusch JL (eds.). "Rickettsialpox". EMedicine Infectious Diseases. WebMD LLC.
- ISBN 978-0-323-55512-8, retrieved 2023-11-27
- ISBN 84-345-1106-1.
- ^ PMID 18016565.
- ^ Beeman EA (2005). "Robert J. Huebner, M.D.:A Virologist's Odyssey" (PDF). National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
- ^ Staff (4 October 1946). "NEW FEVER TRACED TO MITE ON MICE; U.S. Health Service Roots Out Cause of Spotted Ailment That Struck in Queens NO CURE IS FOUND AS YET Victim Made Ill by Bite of Insect". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
Weinstein Urges War on Rodents Some Removed to Hospitals Blood of Patients Sampled
- ISBN 978-0-8493-7611-5.
- ^ Freeman DW (16 November 2010). "Smallpox, Rickettsialpox Scare "House" Doctors: Is Threat Real?". www.cbsnews.com.
- ^ "A Pox On Our House". House MD. Season 7. Episode 707. 15 November 2010.
- ^ Bradley B (17 November 2014). "8 Rare 'House, M.D.' Cases That Can Actually Happen". HuffPost.