Recently, a 75-year-old man from Kerala who recently travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia was diagnosed with the bacterial disease murine typhus. This marks the first case of the rare disease reported in the state.
About 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.
- The disease 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.
- The disease is spread when infected flea faeces come into contact with cuts or scrapes in the skin. Transmission can also happen through exposure of mucous membranes to infected flea faeces.
- 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 include fever, headaches, body aches, joint pains, nausea, vomiting, and stomach aches. Some people may later develop rashes on the skin, days after the initial symptoms.
- The illness seldom lasts longer than two weeks, but may last for months with complications if not treated.
