| Popis: |
The historical aspects of natural infection of rickettsial diseases, particularly of epidemic typhus, murine typhus, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF), and African tick bite fever (ATBF), are described. From the first description by Howards T Ricketts of an infectious agent responsible for RMSF via Charles Nicolle’s demonstration of human body louse as a vector for epidemic thyphus – to the actual rickettsial field, with 16 identified human rickettsioses and 24 recognized species, and several dozens of as yet uncharacterized strains, 100 years of intense research have addressed an exciting microbiology area. Rickettsial diseases result from infection of persons with Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacteria vectorized by arthropods, such as ticks, lice, fleas, mites, and chiggers. The evolving concepts of the infection, transmission, and diagnosis are linking directly to innovative technology after an integration of a comprehensive natural history of the infection. The treatment remains unchanged since the discovery of the doxycycline. |
