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Typhus Fever Affect Humans

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Typhus Fever and its Effects on Humans
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a disease called Typhus fever, it is caused mainly by bacteria called Rickettsia typhi or R. prowazekii, in an article from AJN online website, James A. Dolce, M.D. writes about the American scientist, Howars T. Ricketts, who identified them and who also died of typhus fever while he investigated the way in which the infection spreads, hence the name Rickettsia, in his honor. The disease is transmitted by ectoparasites such as fleas, lice, mites, and ticks. The way it is transmitted is usually by bites, organisms from these ectoparasites will contaminate the host, another way of contracting Typhus fever is by inoculation of fluids from these vectors which are infectious …show more content…

It is reported that Rocky Mountain, spotted fevers, Mediterranean spotted fever, scrub typhus and Brazilian spotted fevers have a high risk of fatality if not diagnosed and treated early, the percentage is 20%-60% of untreated cases can be fatal so it is extremely important to catch it early to prevent death. The Geographic distribution of the disease is very wide and it spreads from these regions mostly, Europe, Africa, India, and the Middle East. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is prominent in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and various countries in Central and South America, the risk of infection gets increased by coming in contact with dogs and outdoor activities like fishing ,hunting, and camping. Once a person has been infected with Typhus fever it is critical that early diagnoses and treatment take place, it is confirmed that treatment should not be prolonged due to awaiting confirmation of test results because these could take weeks to come back with a result and this is because serology is used for diagnosing. Treatment with tetracycline is recommended, doxycycline is the one most commonly used for treatment, oxygen and intravenous fluids are sometimes needed, antibiotics that are broad spectrum are usually …show more content…

In some specific cases chloramphenicol could be used as an alternative but its use is associated with more deaths, specially for R. rickettsia, if this is the case than professional advice should be sought. Prognosis is good for the patients who receive treatment early and should recover completely, possible complications include; Pneumonia, renal insufficiency and central nervous system damage. A few ways of preventing Typhus fever is to avoid being in places where fleas, mites, lice and ticks gather or live, by having good sanitation and by vaccination with the typhus vaccine before people travel to areas that are known as endemic. I couldn't end this paper without mentioning Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary, born in 1869, she was the first person considered as an asymptomatic carrier, it is said that she infected at least 51 people, three of whom died, Mary was placed in isolation twice in an attempt to prevent the spread of typhus, she passed away on November 11, 1938 from pneumonia; writing this paper on typhus fever wouldn't have been the same if it wasn't for

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