Murine Typhus:
A 75-year-old man from Kerala who recently travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia was diagnosed with the bacterial disease murine typhus.
- Murine Typhus is an infectious disease caused by the flea-borne bacteria Rickettsia typhi.
- It is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas
- It is also known as endemic typhus, flea-borne typhus or flea-borne spotted fever.
- Rodents like rats, mice and mongoose, are known to be reservoirs of the disease.
- The disease-carrying fleas can also live on other small mammals, including pets such as cats and dogs. Once a flea is infected, it can spread the disease for the rest of its life.
- Transmission can also happen through exposure of mucous membranes to infected flea faeces.
- It is spread when infected flea faeces come into contact with cuts or scrapes in the skin.
- Murine typhus is not spread from one person to another, or from person to fleas.
- The disease has been reported in coastal tropical and subtropical regions, where rats are prevalent.
- In India, cases of murine typhus have been reported in the Northeast, Madhya Pradesh and Kashmir.
- The symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days after the exposure and include fever, headaches, body aches, joint pains, nausea, vomiting, and stomach aches.
