Flea Borne Spotted Fever is a sickness caused by bacteria called Rickettsia typhi. Flea Borne Spotted Fever is a zoonotic disease, which means that it can spread between animals and people. The bacteria is spread between people and animals by fleas, which is why treating and preventing fleas in your pets is so important.
This fact sheet was developed by students in Macquarie University’s 2022 Medical Sciences Capstone/PACE subject major industry partnership project. The following references were provided by the students who developed the fact sheet:
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2020. Flea-Borne (Murine) Typhus. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/typhus/murine/index.html#:~:text=Flea%2Dborne%20(murine)%20typhus%2C%20is%20a%20disease%20caused,rats%2C%20cats%2C%20or%20opossums. Accessed on October 14, 2022.
Martinez, M. A. C. Ramírez-Hernández A., Blanton L. S,. 2021. Manifestations and Management of Flea-Borne Rickettsioses. Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine, 12: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.2147/RRTM.S274724.
NSW Health. 2016. Typhus (Epidemic, Murine and Other Rickettsial Diseases) Fact Sheet. Available at: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/typhus.aspx. Accessed on October 14, 2022.
Teoh, Y. T., Hii, S. F., Graves, S., Rees, R., Stenos, J., & Traub, R. J. 2016. Evidence of exposure to Rickettsia felis in Australian patients. One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2, 95–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2016.06.001.
