Murine typhus |
Classification and external resources |
ICD-10 |
A75.2 |
ICD-9 |
081.0 |
DiseasesDB |
32211 |
MeSH |
D014437 |
Murine typhus (also called endemic typhus) is a form of typhus transmitted by fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis), usually on rats. (This is in contrast to epidemic typhus, which is usually transmitted by lice.) Murine typhus is an under-recognized entity, as it is often confused with viral illnesses. Most people who are infected do not realize that they have been bitten by fleas.
Contents
- 1 Causes
- 2 Symptoms
- 3 Treatment and prognosis
- 4 See also
- 5 References
Causes
It is caused by the bacteria 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, possums 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 infect 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,[1] Texas and Hawaii. In some studies, up to 13% of children were found to have serological evidence of infection.[2]
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.
Treatment and prognosis
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.
See also
- List of mites associated with cutaneous reactions
References
- ^ "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.
- Infectious diseases
- Bacterial disease: Proteobacterial G−
- primarily A00–A79, 001–041, 080–109
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α |
Rickettsiales |
Rickettsiaceae/
(Rickettsioses) |
Typhus |
- Rickettsia typhi
- Rickettsia prowazekii
- Epidemic typhus, Brill–Zinsser disease, Flying squirrel typhus
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Spotted
fever |
Tick-borne |
- Rickettsia rickettsii
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Rickettsia conorii
- Rickettsia japonica
- Rickettsia sibirica
- Rickettsia australis
- Rickettsia honei
- Flinders Island spotted fever
- Rickettsia africae
- Rickettsia parkeri
- Rickettsia aeschlimannii
- Rickettsia aeschlimannii infection
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Mite-borne |
- Rickettsia akari
- Orientia tsutsugamushi
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Flea-borne |
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Anaplasmataceae |
- Ehrlichiosis: Anaplasma phagocytophilum
- Human granulocytic anaplasmosis, Anaplasmosis
- Ehrlichia chaffeensis
- Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis
- Ehrlichia ewingii
- Ehrlichiosis ewingii infection
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Rhizobiales |
Brucellaceae |
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Bartonellaceae |
- Bartonellosis: Bartonella henselae
- Bartonella quintana
- either henselae or quintana
- Bartonella bacilliformis
- Carrion's disease, Verruga peruana
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β |
Neisseriales |
M+ |
- Neisseria meningitidis/meningococcus
- Meningococcal disease, Waterhouse–Friderichsen syndrome, Meningococcal septicaemia
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M- |
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae/gonococcus
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ungrouped: |
- Eikenella corrodens/Kingella kingae
- Chromobacterium violaceum
- Chromobacteriosis infection
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Burkholderiales |
- Burkholderia pseudomallei
- Burkholderia mallei
- Burkholderia cepacia complex
- Bordetella pertussis/Bordetella parapertussis
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γ |
Enterobacteriales
(OX-) |
Lac+ |
- Klebsiella pneumoniae
- Rhinoscleroma, Klebsiella pneumonia
- Klebsiella granulomatis
- Klebsiella oxytoca
- Escherichia coli: Enterotoxigenic
- Enteroinvasive
- Enterohemorrhagic
- O157:H7
- O104:H4
- Hemolytic-uremic syndrome
- Enterobacter aerogenes/Enterobacter cloacae
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Slow/weak |
- Serratia marcescens
- Citrobacter koseri/Citrobacter freundii
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Lac- |
H2S+ |
- Salmonella enterica
- Typhoid fever, Paratyphoid fever, Salmonellosis
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H2S- |
- Shigella dysenteriae/sonnei/flexneri/boydii
- Shigellosis, Bacillary dysentery
- Proteus mirabilis/Proteus vulgaris
- Yersinia pestis
- Yersinia enterocolitica
- Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
- Far East scarlet-like fever
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Pasteurellales |
Haemophilus: |
- H. influenzae
- Haemophilus meningitis
- Brazilian purpuric fever
- H. ducreyi
- H. parainfluenzae
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Pasteurella multocida |
- Pasteurellosis
- Actinobacillus
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Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans |
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Legionellales |
- Legionella pneumophila/Legionella longbeachae
- Coxiella burnetii
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Thiotrichales |
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Vibrionaceae |
- Vibrio cholerae
- Vibrio vulnificus
- Vibrio parahaemolyticus
- Vibrio alginolyticus
- Plesiomonas shigelloides
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Pseudomonadales |
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Moraxella catarrhalis
- Acinetobacter baumannii
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Xanthomonadaceae |
- Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
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Cardiobacteriaceae |
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Aeromonadales |
- Aeromonas hydrophila/Aeromonas veronii
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ε |
Campylobacterales |
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Campylobacteriosis, Guillain–Barré syndrome
- Helicobacter pylori
- Peptic ulcer, MALT lymphoma, Gastric cancer
- Helicobacter cinaedi
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gr+f/gr+a (t)/gr-p (c)/gr-o
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drug (J1p, w, n, m, vacc)
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Zoonosis: Flea-borne diseases
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Bacterial infection
(all G-) |
- Murine typhus
- Lyme disease
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Ehrlichiosis
- Relapsing fever
- Tularemia
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Viral infection |
- Tick-borne meningoencephalitis
- Colorado tick fever
- Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
- Myxomatosis
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Protozoan infection |
- Babesiosis
- Cytauxzoonosis
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Helminth |
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Vectors |
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