Typhus Infections Surging Throughout Texas

Between 2008 and 2016, there has been a marked increase in typhus cases in several Texas counties, including Bexar, Travis, Hidalgo, Nueces, and Cameron counties.

By Bonnie PetrieJuly 30, 2018 8:21 am,

From Texas Public Radio:

Murine typhus is carried by possums and rodents. It is transmitted to humans by the fleas that those animals host. Dr. Tim Anderson, a parasitic diseases researcher at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, says that makes Typhus a classic example of a zoonotic disease that is “spilling over” into the human population.

And, he adds, the populations hardest hit by Typhus also seems to be changing.

“One of the interesting things here is that, classically, this is a disease of sort of quite poor communities and impoverished areas. My impression is it’s now a disease that’s now seen in affluent areas, as well,” he says.

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