Louse-borne typhus

World Health Organization. Fact Sheet 162 Epidemic Louse-Borne Typhus Fever. Geneva Health Communications and Public Relations, May 1997. 

Active immunization against louse-borne typhus... 

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. 

Hayes (5) has also reviewed the contribution of pesticides to the control of human diseases spread by arthropods and other vectors. Outbreaks of malaria, louse-borne typhus, plague, and urban yellow fever, four of the most important epidemic diseases of history, have been controlled by use of the organochlorine insecticides, especially DDT. In fact, the single most significant benefit from pesticides has been the protection from malaria. Today malaria eradication is an accomplished fact for 619 million people who live in areas once malarious. Where eradication has been achieved it has stood the test of time. An additional 334 million people live in areas where transmission of the parasite is no longer a major problem. Thus, about 1 billion people, or approximately one-fourth of the population of the world, no longer live under the threat of malaria. 

In 15 cases of louse-borne typhus, Tierney and Yeomans (354) found that as early as the fifth day of the disease the serum albumin levels fell... 

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis Acanthamoeba, louse-borne relapsing fever, dengue fever, Rift Valley fever, hemorrhagic fevers, leptospirosis, malaria, typhoid fever, typhus, liver failure, and hepatitis. 

Typhus vaccines Killed epidemic Rickettsia prowazekii Active immunization against louse-borne t q)hus... 

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

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