Abstract
Epidemic typhus is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii and transmitted by body lice (Pediculus humanus corporis). This disease occurs where conditions are crowded and unsanitary. This disease accompanied war, famine, and poverty for centuries. Historical and proxy climate data indicate that drought was a major factor in the development of typhus epidemics in Mexico during 1655–1918. Evidence was found for 22 large typhus epidemics in central Mexico, and tree-ring chronologies were used to reconstruct moisture levels over central Mexico for the past 500 years. Below-average tree growth, reconstructed drought, and low crop yields occurred during 19 of these 22 typhus epidemics. Historical documents describe how drought created large numbers of environmental refugees that fled the famine-stricken countryside for food relief in towns. These refugees often ended up in improvised shelters in which crowding encouraged conditions necessary for spread of typhus.
Highlights
The historical and geographic origins of typhus are disputed
Areas of Russia, Burundi, Algeria, and Andean Peru have all experienced typhus outbreaks in the past 20 years and are currently susceptible to outbreaks because of a high incidence of body lice, homelessness, or a large population of typhus survivors who are at risk for Brill-Zinsser disease [6,7,8,9]
A wealthy man described the city of Guanajuato during the typhus epidemic of 1714, when crowds of poor persons gathered in the street to beg for food: “Walking on the streets it was common to find people reduced almost to their bare skeletons walking in bands
Summary
Epidemic typhus is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii and transmitted by body lice (Pediculus humanus corporis). This disease occurs where conditions are crowded and unsanitary. Epidemic typhus is a serious infectious disease caused by the obligate, intracellular, gram-negative bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii and transmitted by body lice (Pediculus humanus corporis). This disease is recognized for its high mortality rate throughout human history, before modern sanitary practices and the availability of antimicrobial drugs [1]. We compared the timing of these typhus epidemics with tree-ring reconstructions of growing-season moisture conditions to assess the relationship between climate and typhus during this period
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