COVID Scare: California Woman Tests Positive for Typhus After Disposing Dead Rat

A California neighborhood appears to have experiesnced many cases of typhus, a now-rare illness. According to local media accounts, at least two perons in Monrovia, California, recently contracted typhus after handling dead rats, probably due to infected fleas carried by the rats. Thankfully, medicines are effective in treating typhus.

However, finding flea-borne typhus in California appears to be nothing out of the ordinary. The illness is often found in tropical locations. Still, there was a tiny outbreak in Los Angeles in 2018, with at least 20 individuals catching it, up from the usual one to five cases recorded in the area each year.

Flea-borne typhus is usually mild and goes away on its own, even if antibiotics aren't used. However, timely treatment can hasten the healing and help avoid problems such as organ damage. For her part, Holzmann hopes that her story may serve as a warning to keep away from deceased animals.

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