[ad_1]
Officials announce an outbreak of typhus, a bacterial disease commonly transmitted by lice or fleas, in the Los Angeles area.
Cases of the form of the disease transmitted by fleas – called endemic typhus or murine – are observed in the area each year, according to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. But in recent years, the number of cases of typhus has doubled to nearly 60 per year. The most alarming of all? Some unusual clusters of the disease, including nine cases in downtown Los Angeles and 20 in Pasadena – "well above the expected number of one to five cases per year" in Pasadena, according to the city.
Flea typhus is, as its name suggests, carried by fleas. According to the county, these fleas usually catch rats, stray cats, and possums in the LA region – this is not exactly the kind of animals that locals of California would like to cuddle. But pets outdoors can come into contact with these animals and bring home infected fleas. (The animals themselves do not get really sick because of typhus.)
RELATED: 16 things you can catch from your pet
It's actually the poop of these infected fleas that poses the biggest problem to humans. The bacteria causing typhus, Rickettsia typhi, linger there. (Another bacteria, Rickettsia prowazekiiEpileptic typhus, which spreads through lice.) "People catch murine typhus when infected flea stools are rubbed on cuts or skin scrapes," according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the two weeks following this exposure, the symptoms of typhus appear. People can develop fever and chills, body aches, nausea, vomiting or rashes, which usually occur around the fifth day of illness.
Fortunately, most people recover very well from endemic typhus. When cases need to be treated, it is usually with the doxycycline antibiotic. Severe cases can cause liver, kidney, heart, lung or brain damage, according to the CDC.
RELATED: 5 old diseases that are coming back
There is no vaccine against typhus (you could confuse it with typhoid, a more serious illness that travelers can contract in contaminated food or water). But you can take small steps to stay safe. The County of L.A. Health Department recommends residents to use flea control products on pets and keep them indoors if possible. It is also wise, for outdoor enthusiasts in the area, to use a labeled insect repellent for protection against fleas.
This is probably self-evident, but if you are worried about typhus, stay away from wild or stray animals with fleas. Do not encourage them to come closer to your home. This means that you should not leave tempting pet food outside, cover the outside bins well and do not close or clean the places where stray animals might be around your house. . (Wear gloves and a mask while you do this job too!)
Endemic typhus is not spread from person to person (phew!) And is most commonly found in the southern United States, especially in California and Texas, in summer and fall.
Authorities are still investigating what may have led to the recent rise in the number of cases of typhus in California, but this seems to be part of a more worrisome trend. Earlier this year, the CDC reported that the number of cases of tick-borne diseases, fleas and mosquitoes more than tripled from 2004 to 2016. Typhus remains rare and fleas are more likely to carry the bacteria that cause the plague. .
To receive our best articles in your inbox, sign up for Healthy Living Newsletter
Source link
