infectious diseases
Epidemic Typhus
Brill Zinsser Disease
Brill-Zinsser disease is a recrudescence of epidemic typhus, occurring years after an initial attack. Patients with Brill-Zinsser disease acquired epidemic typhus earlier or lived in an endemic area. Apparently, when host defenses falter, viable organisms retained in the body are activated, causing recurrent typhus; thus, disease is sporadic, occurring at any season or geographic area, and in the absence of infected lice. Lice that feed on patients may acquire and transmit the agent. Symptoms and signs of Brill-Zinsser disease are almost always mild and resemble those of epidemic typhus, with similar circulatory disturbances and hepatic, renal, and central nervous system changes. The remittent febrile course lasts about 7 to 10 days. The rash is often evanescent or absent. Mortality is nil. See the Overview of Rickettsial and Related Infections for Diagnosis and 