Abstract
Typhus is an infectious disease characterized by fever, headache, and a prominent rash which starts centrally on the trunk, and then spreads centrifugally to the limbs. The cause of epidemic typhus is a Rickettsia prowazekii, which is a small bacteria that grows within the living cells. The transmission of epidemic typhus is by lice. Lice tend to be host-specific, and the louse of humans is Pediculus hominis. There are two varieties of human lice: body lice, and head lice. The transmission of rickettsia begins when the louse takes a blood meal from an infected individual. The organisms multiply in the gastrointestinal tract of the louse, and are passed in the insect feces. The louse bite causes itching, and when the uninfected host scratches the bite, the organisms in the infected louse feces are introduced. The rickettsial infection ultimately kills the louse in about two weeks.
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