Lice typhus is one of the oldest pernicious diseases, which has haunted humanity for centuries. Known by many names such as "camp fever", "war fever", "prison fever" and "tabarillo", and confused with many other fevers and illnesses, it was not until the end of the 15th century that century that it was identified as a cause of major epidemics. Along with plague, typhoid and dysentery, it is known for wiping out armies and civilian populations from the 15th to the 20th centuries, playing a decisive role in the fate of wars in Europe. This article will attempt to analyze in more detail the historical impact of louse typhus and how its epidemic spread led many to view Pediculus humanus corporis as having a more remarkable influence on human history than any other parasite. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"?Get the original essayEpidemic typhus fever (tabarillo, classical or European typhus, prison fever, war fever)The name "typhus" is derived from the Greek word typos, meaning "smoke" resembling the delirious state one suffers from an infection. Originally, “typhus” represented any self-limiting fever accompanied by stupor. In 1829, the French clinician Louis distinguished "typhoid fever" from "typhoid fever." Epidemic typhus, isolated and identified by DaRocha-Lima in 1916, is caused by a small coccobacilli-shaped Gram-negative bacterium, Rickettsia prowazekii, which was originally thought to be a virus in due to its small size and the difficulty of cultivation. Being an obligate intracellular parasite, it uses cell components to survive and multiply. It was named in honor of HT Ricketts and L. von Prowazek, who died from infection during their investigations. Since the cell wall is excessively permeable to many large metabolites, the microorganism requires a living host. The host is thought to provide ATP, NAD, and CoA. (Brezina et al., 1973). Typhus comes from the feces of the body louse (Pediculus humanus corporis) contaminated with R. prowazekii. The louse bite causes itching and scratching, which allows bacteria to enter the area of ​​the scratch or bite through the skin. Indirect transmission can occur if lice infect a person, who then develops the disease and the then-infected lice move to the next individual, infecting through bites and defecation or directly, via clothing shared between individuals. After an incubation period of 7 to 14 days, fever, headache and prostration suddenly occur. The temperature rises to 40°C in several days, with a slight morning remission, for almost 2 weeks. A headache is intense. Small pink macules appear from the 4th to the 6th day and quickly cover the body, generally in the armpits and on the upper part of the trunk, excluding the palms, soles of the feet and face. Later, the rash becomes dark and maculopapular. The rash may become petechial and hemorrhagic in extreme cases. Splenomegaly sometimes occurs. Spread is regulated in human populations by the circulation of lice between individuals. The louse is a relatively inefficient vector, due to its short range of movement; it crawls and cannot fly. Additionally, active stages only survive 7-10 days without a suitable host to feed on, which is accompanied by the fact that they are exclusively human parasites. The spread of the epidemic is therefore favored by the existence of alarge population of lice on humans crowded in their living quarters. Scratching and itching by heavily infested individuals causes lice to move to the outer surface of clothing and be easily transmitted to others. So, in crowded buildings, prisons, refugee camps, or in times of war or disaster, when prisoners, refugees, or soldiers are unable to change clothes or wash regularly, lice spread quickly. among the general population, particularly in winter, when bathing is prohibited. made more difficult due to cold weather. So, over the centuries and in areas where overpopulation, malnutrition, and lack of sanitation were widespread, typhus spread rapidly. The first record of epidemic typhus in history was in 1489, during the Spanish Inquisition and Reconquista. An epidemic of louse typhus broke out within the Spanish army, killing more than 17,000 soldiers in a month, with only 3,000 men dying in combat. Typhus completely destroyed the Spanish army. The 17th century during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the first 15 years, was also hugely affected after its introduction by typhus. Along with the plague, typhus was responsible for the deaths of 10,000,000 soldiers, compared to only 350,000 men who died in combat. (1632). Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in 1812 against the Russians remains the classic example. Napoleon's Grande Armée originally numbered over 600,000 tactful soldiers, marching without much resistance to capture the Russian province. France and Russia were tense allies. In 1812, his army entered Russian-controlled Poland. It was in Poland that things took a turning point for Napoleon. The territory was filthy beyond belief. The peasants were unwashed, had matted hair and were infested with lice and fleas, and the wells were clogged. Being in an enemy state, resources quickly began to dwindle and it became difficult to provide food and water to the soldiers. The army was too numerous to keep its military formation intact, and most of the army dissolved into scattered, sprawling crowds. Many soldiers therefore attacked the homes, livestock and fields of local peasants which were infested with parasites. Intestinal illnesses typical of war, such as dysentery, began to appear, and although new hospitals were established, they were unable to care for the countless sick soldiers. A few days after crossing the Niéman, many soldiers began to develop high fevers and red rashes. their bodies. Some developed a bluish tint to their faces and died. Typhus had appeared. Typhus had been present in Poland and Russia for many years, but its situation had worsened since the Russian army had devastated Poland as it retreated from Napoleon's forces. The lack of cleanliness combined with a surprisingly hot summer provided a perfect environment for lice infestation and spread. It took a full century after the 1812 campaign before scientists discovered that typhus was spread through lice feces. French soldiers were sweaty, unclean and lived in the same clothes for days; providing a suitable environment for a louse to feed and find habitat in one's clothing. Once the soldier's skin and clothing were contaminated with lice feces, the slightest abrasion or scratch was enough for the germ to enter the soldier's body. To make the problem worse, the soldiers were sleepingin large groups in confined spaces, for safety reasons. This proximity allowed lice to spread easily. In less than a month after the campaign began, Napoleon lost 80,000 soldiers who had either died of typhus or were incapacitated. fatal. The loss of comrades to desertion and disease was inestimable. On top of that, there was a problem finding supplies in hostile territory, yet he claimed his men could withstand the harshest Russian winters - which turned out to be his biggest mistake. Napoleon and his sick and tired soldiers marched on. The Russians withdrew as the French advanced, drawing Napoleon deeper into Russian territory. By August 25, Napoleon had lost 105,000 men from his main army of 265,000, leaving only 160,000 soldiers. Within two weeks, typhus had reduced the army to 103,000 men. On September 7, French forces engaged the Russians, causing heavy losses. Napoleon then marched on Moscow with only 90,000 soldiers. He had expected the Russians to surrender; However, the citizens simply left Moscow to Napoleon after burning three-quarters of it, leaving neither food nor provisions. Fifteen thousand reinforcements joined Napoleon in Moscow, but among them, 10,000 died of typhus. As the Russian winter approached, Napoleon had no choice but to retreat. During the First World War, at least 20,000 Austrians were taken prisoner by the Serbs. There was a shortage of doctors and other health professionals, which led to a rapid collapse in the health status of helpless populations. Malnutrition, overpopulation and poor hygiene paved the way for typhus. In November 1914, typhus made its first appearance among refugees and prisoners, spreading quickly among the troops. A year after the start of hostilities, typhus killed 150,000 people, including 50,000 prisoners in Serbia. The mortality rate reaches an epidemic peak of around 60 to 70% during this period. Drastic measures were taken, such as quarantining people with the first clinical signs of the disease, as well as attempts to enforce hygiene standards within the troops to prevent body lice infestations. In Russia, during the last two years of unrest and the Bolshevik revolution, approximately 2.5 million deaths were recorded. Typhus was latent in Russia well before the First World War. The death rate increased from 0.13 per 1,000 in peacetime to 2.33 per 1,000 in 1915. Typhus was imported and spread throughout the country via soldiers and refugees. During the brutal winter of 1917–1918, the largest typhus epidemic in modern history broke out in a Russia already devastated by famine and war, leading to five million deaths in Russia and Europe. East. WORLD WAR II: Henrique da Rocha Lima, a Brazilian physician, discovered the cause of epidemic typhus in 1916 while conducting research in Germany. The discovery by Cox (1938) that R. prowazekii could be grown in the yolk sac of developing chicken embryos made it possible to prepare a vaccine against epidemic typhus, consisting of a killed suspension of R. prowazekii grown in the chicken embryo. Even though a delousing station was established and a typhus vaccine was developed, typhus epidemics continued to seek their victims, notably in German concentration camps during the Holocaust, where typhus was a major scourge (Anne Frank died in a camp at the age of 15 from typhus). and we will never know how many inmates succumbed to the disease. Upon release.