What Is Typhus? California Woman Falls Ill After Disposing Of Dead Rat

A woman in California developed typhus after a seemingly harmless act. She just disposed of a dead rat from her property.

Margaret Holzmann of Monrovia in California was ill for weeks and her symptoms included exhaustion, headache and fever, KTLA 5 reported. She got tested for COVID-19 but the results returned negative.

When her condition did not improve, her doctor asked if she had any contact with wild animals.

"I thought, 'No, not really' and then I thought, 'Oh, wait.' There was that rat!" Holzmann said, the outlet reported.

She had previously removed a dead rat from her backyard, likely exposing her to infected fleas. When she shared the story on the neighborhood's "Nextdoor app," her neighbors said even they developed typhus around the same time after disposing of a dead rat.

It was not known when the woman developed typhus.

Typhus is a disease that is caused by the bite of lice, mites, ticks or fleas that carry one or more rickettsial bacteria, Healthline noted. Among the types of typhus, endemic or murine typhus is said to be "uncommon" in the U.S. and is often seen in places with poor hygiene, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, some cases are reported in the southern U.S., "particularly in California and Texas" in the summer and fall.

"It is rarely deadly," the NIH said. "You are more likely to get this type of typhus if you are around rat feces or fleas, and other animals such as cats, possums, raccoons, and skunks."

The director of Infectious Disease at Dignity Health hospital, Dr. Suman Radhakrishna, said typhus typically goes undiagnosed. This is because "it gets better" for most patients, so they don't go back to the doctor.

However, typhus can also cause certain complications such as renal insufficiency, pneumonia and central nervous system damage.

"A small proportion of people can have liver or kidney failure and can have problems where it affects the brain," Dr. Radhakrishna said, KTLA 50 reported.

While it's unclear how many people in the neighborhood have fallen ill, Holzmann is hoping that her story will help raise awareness.

"If you see something in your yard, call someone who can dispose of it safely and don't try to do it yourself," Holzmann told the outlet.