• On 11th October 2024, the Kerala State Surveillance Unit, Directorate of Health Services, reported one case of Murine Typhus in Thiruvananthapuram district.

•  A 75-year-old resident of Kerala, who had returned from Vietnam and Cambodia, fell ill on 8th September. 

• After several tests and consideration of the travel history, the patient was diagnosed with Murine Typhus.

• The bacteria, Rickettsia typhi, causes illness in rats, cats, or opossums. 

• The vector, the Oriental rat flea, can infect humans or animals through a bite that creates a wound.

• When flea dirt (flea feces containing the bacteria) is rubbed into the wound, it leads to infection. Symptoms include fever, chills, rash, and headache. 

• While it can cause severe illness, the case fatality rate is less than 1%. Treatment with doxycycline aids recovery from the illness.

• Kerala has been reporting cases of scrub typhus, but this was the first case of Murine Typhus. 

• Although the risk of spreading the illness is low, as it is not transmitted from human to human, preventive measures are recommended. They include keeping rodents away from homes and workplaces by maintaining safe, clean, and hygienic practices, and protecting oneself from flea bites.

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