Which bacterium causes epidemic typhus?
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Rickettsia prowazekii
It lives and multiplies inside body cells.
💡 Did you know? It is named after two researchers who died of it.
All questions with answers
Which insect transmits epidemic typhus?
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The body louse
The pathogen is in the louse's faeces.
💡 Did you know? It enters the skin through scratches.
With which other disease is typhus often confused?
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With typhoid fever
Typhoid, by contrast, is caused by salmonellae.
💡 Did you know? The similar names still cause confusion today.
Under which conditions does typhus spread especially?
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In war and hardship
Crowding and poor hygiene favour the lice.
💡 Did you know? That is why it was called „camp“ or „war fever“.
Which skin sign gave typhus its name?
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A spotted rash
It spreads over the whole body.
💡 Did you know? High fever and stupor add to it.
Who won the Nobel Prize for showing the louse transmits it?
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Charles Nicolle
The Frenchman recognised the route of transmission in 1909.
💡 Did you know? This first allowed the disease to be fought directly.
During which campaign did typhus kill soldiers en masse?
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Napoleon's Russian campaign
More soldiers died of disease than in battle.
💡 Did you know? This helped doom the Grande Armée.
How is typhus treated today?
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With antibiotics
Doxycycline in particular works very well.
💡 Did you know? Treated early, mortality drops sharply.
Which simple measure stops the spread of typhus?
Show answer
Delousing and hygiene
Without lice the pathogen cannot spread.
💡 Did you know? Historically the insecticide DDT helped.
In which places did typhus claim many lives in WWII?
Show answer
In concentration camps
Countless people died of it in Bergen-Belsen.
💡 Did you know? Anne Frank too fell victim to typhus there.
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