Typhus Rickettsia

Typhus is any of several forms of infectious disease caused by rickettsia, especially those transmitted by fleas, lice or mites. Also called prison fever, ship fever and typhus fever.

Epidemic typhus is passed from person to person by the body louse. Endemic, or murine, typhus occurs worldwide and is transmitted by rat fleas. Different tickborne typhus fevers occur in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Australia and Asia. Scrub typhus, transmitted by rodent mites, occurs in a large...