Epidemiology of Murine Typhus in Texas

Abstract

From 1980 through 1984, a total of 200 cases of murine typhus were reported in Texas. All cases were confirmed by the indirect fluorescent antibody assay or latex agglutination test. Patients ranged in age from 1 to 90 years (median, 35 years). Fifty-one percent were female. Seventy-four percent of the patients resided in south Texas. Illness occurred in all months of the year, but 40% of the cases had onset in April, May, or June. Annual incidence increased with age and was higher in Hispanics. Murine typhus continues to be an important public health problem in Texas.

Murine Typhus as a Common Cause of Fever of Intermediate Duration

“…The clinical features in our study were similar to those in other studies, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] except that the frequency of rash was higher (62.5% of the cases), the rash was nonconfluent and subtle in all but 3 patients, and the palms and soles were not affected at all. Characteristics and frequency of rash are important data that may be clues to the diagnosis of MT.…”

“…Both anemia, which was infrequent and mild, and thrombocytopenia, which was present in only 19% of the patients, occurred less frequently than in other studies. 1 However, we did find a frequent increase in hepatic enzyme levels (in 67.3% of the cases).…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The importance of this illness has been underestimated. It is more frequent than is commonly believed and represents a worldwide health problem.…”

“…Respiratory (25%) and digestive symptoms (23%) were also frequent in our study, but occurred less often than in other studies. 1 The analytical alterations, which were nonspecific, were the result of the infection of endothelial cells in multiple organs, 34 leading to a diversity of clinical and laboratory findings. Both anemia, which was infrequent and mild, and thrombocytopenia, which was present in only 19% of the patients, occurred less frequently than in other studies.…”

“…[34][35][36] The frequency of such complications in the present study was 3.8% (4 cases), a percentage similar to that reported by others. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The patients with severe complications had no underlying illnesses; their mean age was similar to that of patients whose illness was noncomplicated; and none had received sulfonamides, factors that have been associated with a higher incidence of complications and severity in rickettsiosis. [37][38][39] The easiest and most specific procedure for diagnosis of MT is the detection of specific IgG antibodies by IFA.…”