Typhus spread by the bite of a rat flea.
Acute infection caused by Rickettsia typhi, transmitted by the bite of an infected flea and characterized by chills, fever, headache, muscle aches, and a dull red rash. Treatment is by chloramphenicol or tetracycline. Also called endemic typhus; rat typhus; urban typhus.
A disease caused by Rickettsia typhi and occurring in nature as a mild infection of rats and transmitted from rat to rat by the rat-louse or flea. Humans may acquire it by being bitten by infected rat fleas or ingesting food contaminated by rat urine or flea feces.
Murine typhus, commonly known as endemic typhus, is a type of typhus fever that is transmitted through fleas that infest rats. It is essential to differentiate it from epidemic typhus, which is spread by body lice. Murine typhus specifically refers to the form of typhus caused by rat fleas, while epidemic typhus is associated with the transmission by body lice.