Epidemic typhus, also called louse-borne typhus, is an uncommon disease caused by a bacteria called Rickettsia prowazekii. Epidemic typhus is spread to ...SkipdirectlytositecontentSkipdirectlytopageoptionsSkipdirectlytoA-ZlinkTyphusFeversSectionNavigationCDCHomeFacebookTwitterLinkedInSyndicateEpidemicTyphusMinusRelatedPagesOnThisPageSignsandSymptomsDiagnosisandTestingTreatmentPreventionEpidemictyphus,alsocalledlouse-bornetyphus,isanuncommondiseasecausedbyabacteriacalledRickettsiaprowazekii.Epidemictyphusisspreadtopeoplethroughcontactwithinfectedbodylice.Thoughepidemictyphuswasresponsibleformillionsofdeathsinpreviouscenturies,itisnowconsideredararedisease.Occasionally,casescontinuetooccur,inareaswhereextremeovercrowdingiscommonandbodylicecantravelfromonepersontoanother. IntheUnitedStates,rarecasesofepidemictyphus,calledsylvatictyphus,canoccur. Thesecasesoccurwhenpeopleareexposedtoflyingsquirrelsandtheirnests.SignsandSymptomsFigure1:Pediculushumanuscorporis,thehumanbodylouse.Symptomsofepidemictyphusbeginwithin2weeksaftercontactwithinfectedbodylice.Signsandsymptomsmayinclude:FeverandchillsHeadacheRapidbreathingBodyandmuscleachesRashCoughNauseaVomitingConfusionBrill-ZinsserdiseaseSomepeoplecanremaininfected,withoutsymptoms,foryearsaftertheyfirstgetsick.Rarely,theseindividualscanhavearelapseindisease,calledBrill-Zinsserdisease,monthsoryearsfollowingtheirfirstillness.Whenthishappens,itoftenoccurswhenthebody’simmunesystemisweakenedduetocertainmedications,oldage,orillness.ThesymptomsofBrill-Zinsserdiseasearesimilartotheoriginalinfection,butareusuallymilderthantheinitialillness.TopofPageDiagnosisandTestingThesymptomsofepidemictyphusaresimilartosymptomsofmanyotherdiseases.Seeyourhealthcareproviderifyoudevelopthesymptomslistedabovefollowingtravelorcontactwithanimals.Tellyourhealthcareproviderifyouhavehadcontactwithflyingsquirrelsortheirnests.Yourhealthcareproviderwillorderabloodtesttolookforepidemictyphusandotherdiseases.Laboratorytestingandreportingofresultscantakeseveralweek