Flea-borne typhus deaths are rising in LA: new CDC report

Flea-borne typhus deaths are rising in LA: new CDC report

Health experts are alarmed at a spike in typhus cases in Los Angeles County, where three recent deaths have been blamed on the disease. The disease is spread by fleas that have come into contact with animals — cats, possums, dogs and rodents — that are carrying the illness. In the 1930s and 1940s, typhus … Read more

Deadly typhus spread by bug bites now found in US

Deadly typhus spread by bug bites now found in US

A potentially deadly form of typhus that’s spread by chiggers has been detected in the United States for the first time. Scientists from the CDC discovered that chiggers — also called trombiculid mites — in North Carolina parks are infected with the bacteria that causes scrub typhus. Scrub typhus can cause severe multi-organ failure if … Read more