Murine typhus (Endemic Flea-Borne Typhus Fever)

如何获得Murine typhus (Endemic Flea-Borne Typhus Fever)？

The germs (Rickettsia) that cause murine typhus are transmitted by infected fleas that are usually carried by rats and sometimes dogs and cats.  The infected fleas usually defecate when they bite, and the bacteria in their feces is then rubbed or scratched into the bite or cuts on a person’s skin. The infection is not transmitted directly from person to person.

易感性和抗性

Everyone is susceptible to endemic flea-borne typhus. One attack results in immunity to further infections with this bacteria.

症状是什么？

Flea-borne typhus illness is very similar to epidemic louse-borne typhus, but the symptoms and the illness are much milder. Symptoms include abdominal pain, backache, diarrhoea, a dull red rash that begins on the middle of the body and spreads, extremely high fever (which may last up to 2 weeks), dry cough, headache, joint and muscle pain, nausea, and vomiting. Usually, less than 1 percent of the cases will die if untreated, so endemic flea-borne typhus is rarely deadly.

预防措施

没有疫苗或药物可预防立克次氏体感染。最好的预防措施是避免老鼠出没区域。正确使用驱虫剂并进行自我检查以消除跳蚤，将有助于降低风险。在职业上接触过老鼠的旅行者（自然学家，地质学家，农业工人）应避免老鼠出没的栖息地，使用驱虫剂并穿防护服。

处理

Antibiotic treatment with doxycycline daily for 5-7 days and for an additional 2 days after the fever subsides usually cures the illness.

药物

• 抗生素类

它常见于哪里？

引起跳蚤斑疹伤寒的细菌（立克次氏体）在世界范围内分布广泛，尤其是在热带和亚热带以及港口城市和沿海地区，老鼠数量众多。全年都在潮湿，热带环境中和温带地区的炎热夏季中发现跳蚤为害的大鼠。据报道，在亚洲，非洲，南欧和美国（夏威夷，加利福尼亚和德克萨斯州）的旅行者中都患有这种疾病。