Why is it in the news?

• A 75-year-old man from Kerala was diagnosed with murine typhus on October 11, marking the state’s first case, after seeking medical attention for body pain and fatigue following his travels to Vietnam and Cambodia.

Murine Typhus

About:

• Murine typhus, also known as endemic or flea-borne typhus, is caused by the bacteria Rickettsia typhi, which is transmitted through the bites of infected fleas.
• These fleas typically live on rodents such as rats, mice, and mongoose, but can also infest other small mammals, including pets like cats and dogs. Once infected, fleas remain capable of spreading the disease for life.

Spread:

• Murine typhus spreads when infected flea faeces come into contact with cuts or scrapes on the skin or mucous membranes. It is not transmitted from person to person or from humans back to fleas.
• The disease is most common in coastal tropical and subtropical regions where rats are prevalent. In India, cases have been reported in the Northeast, Madhya Pradesh, and Kashmir.

Symptoms:

• Symptoms of murine typhus typically appear 7 to 14 days after exposure and include fever, headaches, body aches, joint pain, nausea, vomiting, and stomach discomfort. Some patients may develop rashes days after the initial symptoms. Although the illness usually resolves within two weeks, complications can arise if left untreated, sometimes lasting for months.

Diagnosis and Treatment:

• In the Kerala patient’s case, doctors used Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology to identify the disease by analyzing microbial DNA, and confirmation was carried out through tests at CMC Vellore.
• Currently, there is no vaccine for murine typhus, but early treatment with the antibiotic doxycycline is effective. If not treated promptly, the disease can become severe within a week or two, and in rare cases, it can be fatal.

Prevention Measures:

• Preventing murine typhus involves keeping fleas off pets through regular washing and flea treatments when necessary.
• Households should also take measures to keep rodents, particularly rats, away from living spaces, especially kitchens, by ensuring food items are properly covered and stored.