murine typhus

typhus /ty·phus/ (ti´fus) a group of closely related, acute, arthropod-borne rickettsial diseases that differ in the intensity of certain signs and symptoms, severity, and fatality rate; all are characterized by headache, chills, fever, stupor, and a macular, maculopapular, petechial, or papulovesicular eruption. Often used alone in English-speaking countries to refer to epidemic typhus, and in several European languages to refer to typhoid fever.ty´phous

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endemic typhus  murine t.

epidemic typhus  the classic form, due to Rickettsia prowazekii and transmitted between humans by body lice.

flying squirrel typhus  an acute infectious disease similar to epidemic typhus, occurring in the southeastern United States; it is caused by Rickettsia prowazekii and is transmitted by the fleas and lice of the flying squirrel.

Kenya tick typhus  boutonneuse fever.

murine typhus  an infectious disease, clinically similar to epidemic typhus but milder, due to Rickettsia typhi, transmitted from rat to human by the rat flea and rat louse.

recrudescent typhus  Brill's disease.

scrub typhus  an acute, typhus-like infectious disease caused by Rickettsia tsutsugamushi and transmitted by chiggers, characterized by a primary skin lesion at the site of inoculation and development of a rash, regional lymphadenopathy, and fever.

tropical typhus  scrub t.

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murine typhus

n.

A comparatively mild, acute, endemic form of typhus caused by the microorganism Rickettsia typhi, transmitted from rats to humans by fleas and characterized by fever, headache, and muscular pain. Also called endemic typhus.

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murine typhus

[myo̅o̅′rēn]

Etymology: L, mus, mouse; Gk, typhos, stupor

an acute arbovirus infection caused by Rickettsia typhi and transmitted by the bite of an infected flea. The disease is similar to epidemic typhus but less severe. It is characterized by headache, chills, fever, myalgia, and rash. After an 8- to 16-day incubation period, fever develops and lasts about 12 days. A dull-red maculopapular rash, mainly on the trunk, appears about the fifth day and lasts for 4 to 8 days. Recovery is usually rapid and complete, but death has occurred in elderly or debilitated people. Weil-Felix and complement fixation tests aid in the diagnosis. Chloramphenicol or tetracycline is usually prescribed in treatment. Prevention involves the elimination of the rodents that are the natural host of the organism and the use of appropriate insecticides to control fleas. Also called endemic typhus, flea-borne typhus, New World typhus, rat typhus, urban typhus. Compare epidemic typhus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever. See also Brill-Zinsser disease.

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murine

pertaining to or affecting mice or rats. Strictly speaking refers to members of the subfamily Murinae, the Old World rats and mice. See also mouse.

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chronic murine pneumonia

see murine respiratory mycoplasmosis (above).

chronic murine respiratory disease

see murine respiratory mycoplasmosis.

murine epizootic diarrhea

occurs in young mice up to 3 weeks of age. Caused by a rotavirus and characterized by mucoid yellow diarrhea, a high morbidity but a low mortality. Called also epizootic diarrhea of infant mice (EDIM).

murine leukemia virus

a number of viruses in the family Retroviridae which are associated with the naturally occurring and experimentally induced leukemia or lymphosarcoma in mice.

murine respiratory mycoplasmosis

a disease of mice caused by Mycoplasma pulmonis and characterized by dyspnea, nasal discharge, head tilt and incoordination. In most mice, infection occurs without clinical signs. Called also chronic respiratory disease of rats and mice, chronic murine pneumonia.

murine typhus

a disease of rats caused by Rickettsia typhi, transmitted by the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis and the rat louse Polyplax spinulosa. It is an important disease of humans.

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typhus

acute infectious diseases caused by Rickettsia which are usually transmitted from infected rats and other rodents to humans by lice, fleas, ticks and mites.

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Abyssinian tick typhus

see boutonneuse fever.

canine typhus, canine tick typhus

see canine ehrlichiosis.

epidemic typhus

see rickettsiaprowazeki.

Kenya typhus

see boutonneuse fever.

murine typhus

a disease of humans caused by Rickettsia typhae; rats and cats are the mammalian reservoir.

Queensland tick typhus

caused by Rickettsia australis. See queensland tick typhus.

Sao Paulo typhus

see rocky mountain spotted fever.

scrub typhus

caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. Wild rodents and occasionally dogs may be hosts.