There are five types of rickettsial diseases:
- Typhus.
- Scrub typhus.
- Rocky mountain spotted fever.
- Trench fever.
- Q fever.
The main pathology is vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels).
Typhus
The clinical picture includes the following symptoms:
- Orbital pain & headache & meningeo-encephalitis.
- Rash (measles like).
- Renal failure.
- Other organs: hepato-splenomegaly, lymph node enlargement, pneumonia.
Diagnosed by Weil-Felix test.
Treatment: Tetracycline.
All other types similar to above.
Q-fever:
Caused by the organism Coxiella burnetti, no vector is needed.
Clinical picture: Petechial rash, atypical pneumonia, hepatitis.
Treatment: Tetracycline.
