Typhus - Epidemic

Amongst the diseases caused by rickettsiae are epidemic typhus, trench fever and murine typhus, caused by R. prowozefa) R. quintana a.nA R. typhi, respectively. Q-fever is caused by Coxiella burned. 

Diseases which careful scientific study indicates are subject to control by insecticides include malaria, plague, epidemic typhus, murine typhus, and enteritis due to Shigella. 

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis Dengue, measles, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, rubella, tick bite fever, epidemic typhus, Q fever, typhoid, malaria, trypanosomiasis, hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis, herpes, and influenza. 

Epidemic Typhus 1. Aerosol 2. Infected vectors No High 6-16 days Weeks to months High Not very stable No Effective No... 

All of the vaccine preparations discussed thus far are bacterial or viral-based. Typhus vaccine, on the other hand, targets a parasitic disease. Typhus (spotted fever) refers to a group of infections caused by Rickettsia (small, non-motile parasites). The disease is characterized by severe rash and headache, high fever and delirium. The most common form is that of epidemic typhus ( classical or louse-borne typhus). This is associated particularly with crowded, unsanitary conditions. 

Without appropriate antibiotic treatment, fatality rates can approach 100%. The causative agent of epidemic typhus is Rickettsia prowazekii. Typhus vaccine consists of a sterile aqueous suspension of killed R. prowazekii which has been propagated in either yolk sacs of embryonated eggs, rodent lungs or the peritoneal cavity of gerbils. 

For example, the German encyclopedia Der grofie Brockhaus, vol. VI of the 1930 Leipzig edition, contains a comprehensive article on epidemic typhus. This acute infectious disease is spread only by the body louse 100... 

Epidemic typhus occurs chiefly where unfavorable social and sanitary conditions prevail in dank overcrowded living quarters, hospitals,... 

Successful control and prevention of epidemic typhus consists of enforcing all measures available to destroy the body louse. ... 

Professor Dr. F. Konrich was completely justified in stating, in his publication About sanitation facilities of German POW camps 103 that epidemics such as those in question [...] had long been extinct here [in Germany]. However, it also becomes quite understandable why all of the offices and institutions involved over-reacted when epidemic typhus broke out in the Auschwitz concentration camp in early July 1942.104 The outbreak was traced to the civilian laborers brought in to work in the camp, rather than to inmates deported to Auschwitz. Also, due to drastic measures taken to isolate and eradicate this epidemic, its spreading to the camp s nearby civilian population could be prevented. 

On December 4, 1942, Dr. Wirths reported to headquarters about a discussion held in the administrative council of Bielitz District. The subject was epidemic typhus. A considerable number and range of persons had participated in the discussion, including the medical officer, the Wehrmacht, and representatives of the government. This illustrates how seriously the epidemic was taken to be 144... 

Epidemic typhus occurs chiefly where unfavorable social and sanitary conditions prevail, in dark overcrowded living quarters, hospitals, prisons, emigration ships, caused by crop failures and price increases, thus also known as starvation, hospital, prison, ship or war typhus. Typhus is endemic in Russia, the Balkans, northern Africa, Asia Minor, and Mexico. According to Tarrassevich, 25-30 million people sufferedfrom typhus in Russia in 1918-1921, which amounts to 20-23% of the population. [...]... 

Streptococcal pharyngitis Sulfur mustard poisoning Trichinellosis Tularemia Typhus - epidemic Typhus - scrub Yellow fever... 

Recently IHC has been successfully used to identify Streptococcus pneumoniae in formalin-fixed organs with an overall sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 71% when compared with cultures.Immunohistochemical assays are used to identify Clostridium sp., S. aureus, and S. pyogenes Haemophilus influenzae Chlamydia species i i Legionella pneumophila and L. dumoffiif Listeria monocytogenesf Salmonellaand rickettsial infections other than Rocky Mountain spotted fever such as boutonneuse fever, epidemic typhus, murine typhus,rickettsialpox, 489 African tick bite fever,i and scrub typhus. 

Epidemic Typhus Rickettsia prowazekii Rickettsia Probable... 

Rash-maculop apul ar All rash syndromes typically accompanied by fever Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Scrub typhus, Epidemic typhus, Ebola/Marburg, Argentine hemorrhagic fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Dengue fever, Chikungunya fever, Tularemia (uncommon), Psittacosis (uncommon), Smallpox (early)... 

Rickettsia—Rocky Mountain spotted fever, endemic typhus (murine), epidemic typhus (louse-borne), scrub typhus, (Orientia tsutsugamushi), trench fever, Q fever... 

Tetracyclines are effective in the treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, murine typhus, recrudescent epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, Q fever, lymphogranuloma venereum, psittacosis, tularemia, brucellosis, gonorrhea, certain urinary tract infections, granuloma inguinale, chancroid, syphilis, and disease due to Bacteroides and Clostridium. 

Rickettsial Infections Tetracyclines may be life-saving in rickettsial infections, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, recrudescent epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, rickettsialpox, and Q fever. Improvement often is evident within 24 hours. Doxycycline is the drug of choice for suspected or proven Rocky Mountain spotted fever in adults and children, including those <9 years of age, in whom the risk of staining of teeth is outweighed by the seriousness of the potentially fatal infection. 

Several distinct Rickettsiae species cause typhus fevers in humans. Each agent produces disease with a distinct epidemiology, but all cause illness, usually with fever, headache, or rash, or a combiitation of these. Treatment of all forms of typhus is similar and include.s administration of appropriate antibiotics (tor example, the tetracycline class) and supportive care relapses are infrequent. Epidemic typhus is passed from perst)n to person by the body louse. Endemic, or murine, typhus occurs worldwide and is transmitted by rat fleas. Different tickbome typhus fevers occur in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Australia, and Asia. Scrub typhus, transmitted by rodent mites, occurs in a large area from the Indian subcontinent to Australia and in much of Asia, including Japan, China, Korea, and parts of Russia. 

J. M. Conlon (2006) The historical impact of epidemic typhus, http //entomology.montana.edu/ historybug/typhus-conlon.pdf (last access February 25, 2014). 

Brill-Zinsser disease A recurrence of an epidemic typhus infection caused by reactivation of latent organisms harbored in the lymph nodes. 

Epidemic typhus Louseborne rickettsial disease caused by Rickettsia prowazekii, seen most frequently in conditions of overcrowding and poor sanitation. 

As we have seen, rickettsiae are a degenerate form of bacteria that for the most part require a living host to continue growth. The classic example of rickettsiae infection is epidemic typhus caused by Rickettsia. Epidemic typhus (not to be confused with typhoid fever) has been a major source of infection among soldiers during war. A rickettsial bacterium more suited to use in BW is Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent in Q-Fever, which adopts a hardy sporelike form (unlike other true rickettsial organisms). 

Trench Fever Rickettsial disease, ceaised hy Rochalimaea Quintana, resembling epidemic typhus in that is transmitted by lice and is prevalent during wars and under unsanitary conditions. Known also as Shinbone Fever. 

Bozeman, F.M., S.A. Masiello, M.S. Williams, and B.L. Elisberg. 1975. Epidemic typhus rick-ettsiae isolated from flying squirrels. Nature 255 545-547. 

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