1. A clinico-epidemiological study of epidemic typhus in Africa.
- Author
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Perine PL, Chandler BP, Krause DK, McCardle P, Awoke S, Habte-Gabr E, Wisseman CL Jr, and McDade JE
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Africa epidemiology, Animals, Blood Cells, Blood Chemical Analysis, Ethiopia epidemiology, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne blood, Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne urine, Urine chemistry, Urine cytology, Disease Outbreaks, Disease Reservoirs, Rickettsia prowazekii isolation & purification, Sciuridae, Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne epidemiology
- Abstract
Epidemic, louse-borne typhus persists in the rugged, mountainous areas of Ethiopia and much of northeastern and central Africa as well as in the rural highlands of Central and South America, where the conditions of living favor the harboring of body lice and where antibiotic treatment and effective louse-control measures are unavailable. The historical significance and current epidemiology of typhus, including the reservoir of Rickettsia prowazekii in flying squirrels in the United States, are reviewed, and the clinical presentation, laboratory findings, and hospital course in the cases of 60 patients admitted with epidemic, louse-borne typhus to the St. Paul's Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, are described. Treatment of this disease with oral doxycycline, tetracycline, or chloramphenicol prevents complications and results in prompt resolution of symptoms.
- Published
- 1992
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