TY - JOUR AU - Adjemian, Jennifer AU - Parks, Sharyn AU - McElroy, Kristina AU - Campbell, Jill AU - Eremeeva, Marina E. AU - Nicholson, William L. AU - McQuiston, Jennifer AU - Taylor, Jeffery T1 - Murine Typhus in Austin, Texas, USA, 2008 T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2010 VL - 16 IS - 3 SP - 412 SN - 1080-6059 AB - In August 2008, Texas authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated reports of increased numbers of febrile rash illnesses in Austin to confirm the causative agent as Rickettsia typhi, to assess the outbreak magnitude and illness severity, and to identify potential animal reservoirs and peridomestic factors that may have contributed to disease emergence. Thirty-three human cases of confirmed murine typhus were identified. Illness onset was reported from March to October. No patients died, but 23 (70%) were hospitalized. The case-patients clustered geographically in central Austin; 12 (36%) resided in a single ZIP code area. Specimens from wildlife and domestic animals near case-patient homes were assessed; 18% of cats, 44% of dogs, and 71% of opossums had antibodies reactive to R. typhi. No evidence of R. typhi was detected in the whole blood, tissue, or arthropod specimens tested. These findings suggest that an R. typhi cycle involving opossums and domestic animals may be present in Austin. KW - Murine typhus KW - Rickettsia typhi KW - emergence KW - opossums KW - fleas KW - zoonoses KW - bacteria KW - Texas KW - research KW - USA KW - United States DO - 10.3201/eid1603.091028 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/3/09-1028_article ER - End of Reference