BIOL 0510 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Rickettsia Prowazekii, Lyme Disease, Louse
7 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Rickettsial disease: rickettsia: small bacteria, intracellular parasites in vertebrate. Associated with blood-sucking arthropods at some point in their life cycle (fleas, lice, ticks: 3 groups: typhus group, spotted fever group, ehrlichiosis group. Causes typhus, transmitted from human to human by common louse. Nicolle identified lice as transmitter of epidemic typhus, proper hygiene helped prevent spread - nobel prize 1928. Infection occurs when puncture from louse bite becomes contaminated with louse feces. Killed 3 million people during wwi (more than killed in combat) Symptoms: fever, headache, weakness, rash that spreads everywhere except face, palms, and soles. Ddt spray (later banned due to negative environmental impact) Spread primarily by bite of the deer tick: found all over us. Deer and white-footed mouse are the main reservoirs in the northeast. Wood rat is reservoir in western us. 30k per year (very underestimated: similar illnesses found in europe and asia.
