Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Part I Medicine and Disease: An Overview
- Part II Changing Concepts of Health and Disease
- Part III Medical Specialties and Disease Prevention
- Part IV Measuring Health
- Part V The History of Human Disease in the World Outside Asia
- Part VI The History of Human Disease in Asia
- Part VII The Geography of Human Disease
- Part VIII Major Human Diseases Past and Present
- VIII.1 Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- VIII.2 African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness)
- VIII.3 Ainhum
- VIII.4 Alzheimer’s Disease
- VIII.5 Amebic Dysentery
- VIII.6 Anemia
- VIII.7 Anorexia Nervosa
- VIII.8 Anthrax
- VIII.9 Apoplexy and Stroke
- VIII.10 Arboviruses
- VIII.11 Arenaviruses
- VIII.12 Arthritis (Rheumatoid)
- VIII.13 Ascariasis
- VIII.14 Bacillary Dysentery
- VIII.15 Beriberi
- VIII.16 Black Death
- VIII.17 Black and Brown Lung Disease
- VIII.18 Bleeding Disorders
- VIII.19 Botulism
- VIII.20 Brucellosis
- VIII.21 Bubonic Plague
- VIII.22 Carrión’s Disease
- VIII.23 Catarrh
- VIII.24 Cestode Infections
- VIII.25 Chagas’ Disease
- VIII.26 Chlorosis
- VIII.27 Cholera
- VIII.28 Cirrhosis
- VIII.29 Clonorchiasis
- VIII.30 Croup
- VIII.31 Cystic Fibrosis
- VIII.32 Cytomegalovirus Infection
- VIII.33 Dengue
- VIII.34 Diabetes
- VIII.35 Diarrheal Diseases (Acute)
- VIII.36 Diphtheria
- VIII.37 Down Syndrome
- VIII.38 Dracunculiasis
- VIII.39 Dropsy
- VIII.40 Dysentery
- VIII.41 Dyspepsia
- VIII.42 Ebola Virus Disease
- VIII.43 Echinococcosis (Hydatidosis)
- VIII.44 Eclampsia
- VIII.45 Emphysema
- VIII.46 Encephalitis Lethargica
- VIII.47 Enterobiasis
- VIII.48 Epilepsy
- VIII.49 Ergotism
- VIII.50 Erysipelas
- VIII.51 Fascioliasis
- VIII.52 Fasciolopsiasis
- VIII.53 Favism
- VIII.54 Filariasis
- VIII.55 Fungus Infections (Mycoses)
- VIII.56 Fungus Poisoning
- VIII.57 Gallstones (Cholelithiasis)
- VIII.58 Gangrene
- VIII.59 Giardiasis
- VIII.60 Glomerulonephritis (Bright’s Disease)
- VIII.61 Goiter
- VIII.62 Gonorrhea
- VIII.63 Gout
- VIII.64 Herpes Simplex
- VIII.65 Herpesviruses
- VIII.66 Histoplasmosis
- VIII.67 Hookworm Disease
- VIII.68 Huntington’s Disease (Chorea)
- VIII.69 Hypertension
- VIII.70 Infectious Hepatitis
- VIII.71 Infectious Mononucleosis
- VIII.72 Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- VIII.73 Influenza
- VIII.74 Japanese B Encephalitis
- VIII.75 Lactose Intolerance and Malabsorption
- VIII.76 Lassa Fever
- VIII.77 Lead Poisoning
- VIII.78 Legionnaires’ Disease
- VIII.79 Leishmaniasis
- VIII.80 Leprosy
- VIII.81 Leptospirosis
- VIII.82 Leukemia
- VIII.83 Lupus Erythematosus
- VIII.84 Lyme Borreliosis (Lyme Disease)
- VIII.85 Malaria
- VIII.86 Marburg Virus Disease
- VIII.87 Mastoiditis
- VIII.88 Measles
- VIII.89 Meningitis
- VIII.90 Milk Sickness (Tremetol Poisoning)
- VIII.91 Multiple Sclerosis
- VIII.92 Mumps
- VIII.93 Muscular Dystrophy
- VIII.94 Myasthenia Gravis
- VIII.95 Nematode Infections
- VIII.96 Onchocerciasis
- VIII.97 Ophthalmia (Conjunctivitis and Trachoma)
- VIII.98 Osteoarthritis
- VIII.99 Osteoporosis
- VIII.100 Paget’s Disease of Bone
- VIII.101 Paragonimiasis
- VIII.102 Parkinson’s Disease
- VIII.103 Pellagra
- VIII.104 Periodontal Disease (Pyorrhea)
- VIII.105 Pica
- VIII.106 Pinta
- VIII.107 Plague of Athens
- VIII.108 Pneumocystis Pneumonia (Interstitial Plasma Cell Pneumonia, Pneumocystosis)
- VIII.109 Pneumonia
- VIII.110 Poliomyelitis
- VIII.111 Protein-Energy Malnutrition
- VIII.112 Protozoan Infections
- VIII.113 Puerperal Fever
- VIII.114 Q Fever
- VIII.115 Rabies
- VIII.116 Relapsing Fever
- VIII.117 Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease
- VIII.118 Rickets and Osteomalacia
- VIII.119 Rickettsial Diseases
- VIII.120 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and the Spotted Fever Group Diseases
- VIII.121 Rubella
- VIII.122 St. Anthony’s Fire
- VIII.123 Scarlet Fever
- VIII.124 Schistosomiasis
- VIII.125 Scrofula (Scrophula)
- VIII.126 Scurvy
- VIII.127 Sickle-Cell Anemia
- VIII.128 Smallpox
- VIII.129 Streptococcal Diseases
- VIII.130 Strongyloidiasis
- VIII.131 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- VIII.132 Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome (Asian)
- VIII.133 Sweating Sickness
- VIII.134 Syphilis
- VIII.135 Syphilis, Nonvenereal
- VIII.136 Tapeworm
- VIII.137 Tay-Sachs Disease
- VIII.138 Tetanus
- VIII.139 Tetanus, Neonatal
- VIII.140 Tetany
- VIII.141 Toxoplasmosis
- VIII.142 Trematode Infections
- VIII.143 Trench Fever
- VIII.144 The Treponematoses
- VIII.145 Trichinosis
- VIII.146 Trichuriasis
- VIII.147 Tuberculosis
- VIII.148 Tularemia
- VIII.149 Typhoid Fever
- VIII.150 Typhomalarial Fever
- VIII.151 Typhus, Epidemic
- VIII.152 Typhus, Murine
- VIII.153 Typhus, Scrub (Tsutsugamushi)
- VIII.154 Urolithiasis (Renal and Urinary Bladder Stone Disease)
- VIII.155 Varicella Zoster
- VIII.156 Whooping Cough
- VIII.157 Yaws
- VIII.158 Yellow Fever
- Indexes
- References
VIII.116 - Relapsing Fever
from Part VIII - Major Human Diseases Past and Present
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
By
Edited by
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Part I Medicine and Disease: An Overview
- Part II Changing Concepts of Health and Disease
- Part III Medical Specialties and Disease Prevention
- Part IV Measuring Health
- Part V The History of Human Disease in the World Outside Asia
- Part VI The History of Human Disease in Asia
- Part VII The Geography of Human Disease
- Part VIII Major Human Diseases Past and Present
- VIII.1 Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- VIII.2 African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness)
- VIII.3 Ainhum
- VIII.4 Alzheimer’s Disease
- VIII.5 Amebic Dysentery
- VIII.6 Anemia
- VIII.7 Anorexia Nervosa
- VIII.8 Anthrax
- VIII.9 Apoplexy and Stroke
- VIII.10 Arboviruses
- VIII.11 Arenaviruses
- VIII.12 Arthritis (Rheumatoid)
- VIII.13 Ascariasis
- VIII.14 Bacillary Dysentery
- VIII.15 Beriberi
- VIII.16 Black Death
- VIII.17 Black and Brown Lung Disease
- VIII.18 Bleeding Disorders
- VIII.19 Botulism
- VIII.20 Brucellosis
- VIII.21 Bubonic Plague
- VIII.22 Carrión’s Disease
- VIII.23 Catarrh
- VIII.24 Cestode Infections
- VIII.25 Chagas’ Disease
- VIII.26 Chlorosis
- VIII.27 Cholera
- VIII.28 Cirrhosis
- VIII.29 Clonorchiasis
- VIII.30 Croup
- VIII.31 Cystic Fibrosis
- VIII.32 Cytomegalovirus Infection
- VIII.33 Dengue
- VIII.34 Diabetes
- VIII.35 Diarrheal Diseases (Acute)
- VIII.36 Diphtheria
- VIII.37 Down Syndrome
- VIII.38 Dracunculiasis
- VIII.39 Dropsy
- VIII.40 Dysentery
- VIII.41 Dyspepsia
- VIII.42 Ebola Virus Disease
- VIII.43 Echinococcosis (Hydatidosis)
- VIII.44 Eclampsia
- VIII.45 Emphysema
- VIII.46 Encephalitis Lethargica
- VIII.47 Enterobiasis
- VIII.48 Epilepsy
- VIII.49 Ergotism
- VIII.50 Erysipelas
- VIII.51 Fascioliasis
- VIII.52 Fasciolopsiasis
- VIII.53 Favism
- VIII.54 Filariasis
- VIII.55 Fungus Infections (Mycoses)
- VIII.56 Fungus Poisoning
- VIII.57 Gallstones (Cholelithiasis)
- VIII.58 Gangrene
- VIII.59 Giardiasis
- VIII.60 Glomerulonephritis (Bright’s Disease)
- VIII.61 Goiter
- VIII.62 Gonorrhea
- VIII.63 Gout
- VIII.64 Herpes Simplex
- VIII.65 Herpesviruses
- VIII.66 Histoplasmosis
- VIII.67 Hookworm Disease
- VIII.68 Huntington’s Disease (Chorea)
- VIII.69 Hypertension
- VIII.70 Infectious Hepatitis
- VIII.71 Infectious Mononucleosis
- VIII.72 Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- VIII.73 Influenza
- VIII.74 Japanese B Encephalitis
- VIII.75 Lactose Intolerance and Malabsorption
- VIII.76 Lassa Fever
- VIII.77 Lead Poisoning
- VIII.78 Legionnaires’ Disease
- VIII.79 Leishmaniasis
- VIII.80 Leprosy
- VIII.81 Leptospirosis
- VIII.82 Leukemia
- VIII.83 Lupus Erythematosus
- VIII.84 Lyme Borreliosis (Lyme Disease)
- VIII.85 Malaria
- VIII.86 Marburg Virus Disease
- VIII.87 Mastoiditis
- VIII.88 Measles
- VIII.89 Meningitis
- VIII.90 Milk Sickness (Tremetol Poisoning)
- VIII.91 Multiple Sclerosis
- VIII.92 Mumps
- VIII.93 Muscular Dystrophy
- VIII.94 Myasthenia Gravis
- VIII.95 Nematode Infections
- VIII.96 Onchocerciasis
- VIII.97 Ophthalmia (Conjunctivitis and Trachoma)
- VIII.98 Osteoarthritis
- VIII.99 Osteoporosis
- VIII.100 Paget’s Disease of Bone
- VIII.101 Paragonimiasis
- VIII.102 Parkinson’s Disease
- VIII.103 Pellagra
- VIII.104 Periodontal Disease (Pyorrhea)
- VIII.105 Pica
- VIII.106 Pinta
- VIII.107 Plague of Athens
- VIII.108 Pneumocystis Pneumonia (Interstitial Plasma Cell Pneumonia, Pneumocystosis)
- VIII.109 Pneumonia
- VIII.110 Poliomyelitis
- VIII.111 Protein-Energy Malnutrition
- VIII.112 Protozoan Infections
- VIII.113 Puerperal Fever
- VIII.114 Q Fever
- VIII.115 Rabies
- VIII.116 Relapsing Fever
- VIII.117 Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease
- VIII.118 Rickets and Osteomalacia
- VIII.119 Rickettsial Diseases
- VIII.120 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and the Spotted Fever Group Diseases
- VIII.121 Rubella
- VIII.122 St. Anthony’s Fire
- VIII.123 Scarlet Fever
- VIII.124 Schistosomiasis
- VIII.125 Scrofula (Scrophula)
- VIII.126 Scurvy
- VIII.127 Sickle-Cell Anemia
- VIII.128 Smallpox
- VIII.129 Streptococcal Diseases
- VIII.130 Strongyloidiasis
- VIII.131 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- VIII.132 Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome (Asian)
- VIII.133 Sweating Sickness
- VIII.134 Syphilis
- VIII.135 Syphilis, Nonvenereal
- VIII.136 Tapeworm
- VIII.137 Tay-Sachs Disease
- VIII.138 Tetanus
- VIII.139 Tetanus, Neonatal
- VIII.140 Tetany
- VIII.141 Toxoplasmosis
- VIII.142 Trematode Infections
- VIII.143 Trench Fever
- VIII.144 The Treponematoses
- VIII.145 Trichinosis
- VIII.146 Trichuriasis
- VIII.147 Tuberculosis
- VIII.148 Tularemia
- VIII.149 Typhoid Fever
- VIII.150 Typhomalarial Fever
- VIII.151 Typhus, Epidemic
- VIII.152 Typhus, Murine
- VIII.153 Typhus, Scrub (Tsutsugamushi)
- VIII.154 Urolithiasis (Renal and Urinary Bladder Stone Disease)
- VIII.155 Varicella Zoster
- VIII.156 Whooping Cough
- VIII.157 Yaws
- VIII.158 Yellow Fever
- Indexes
- References
Summary
Relapsing fever is a disease characterized by the occurrence of one or more relapses after the primary febrile paroxysm has subsided. Various types of relapsing fever are caused by blood parasites of the Borrelia group. There are two chief forms of the disease: the endemic, transmitted to humans by various ticks of the genus Ornithodoros, and maintained among a variety of rodents; and the epidemic, caused by a parasitic spirochete, Borrelia recurrentis, which is transmitted by human head and body lice. B. recurrentis is less virulent than the tick-borne forms. Under favorable conditions, mortality is about 5 percent, but in times of distress, as in war or famine, it can reach 60 to 70 percent.
It is also known as famine fever and tick fever, and in the past as yellow fever, because of associated jaundice. The term “relapsing fever” was first used by David Craigie of Edinburgh in 1843. The disease was often, and frequently is still, confused with malaria and typhus, whose symptoms are similar.
Etiology and Epidemiology
Tick-borne relapsing fever is normally contained within the relationship between tick and rodent host; human beings become affected only when they accidentally become involved in that relationship. For example, if human shelters such as log cabins attract rodents, they may in turn become tick habitats. Transmission of relapsing fever is through the infected saliva or coxal fluid of the tick, making it essentially a disease of locality. In the case of louse-borne relapsing fever, the only reservoir of B. recurrentis is human beings, despite the fact that the disease is spread by lice, either in the bite, or by contact with the body fluids of the louse through scratching.
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- The Cambridge World History of Human Disease , pp. 967 - 970Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993
References
. 1976. The epidemiology of relapsing fevers. In The biology of parasitic spirochaetes, ed. . London.Google Scholar
, et al. 1979. Tick-borne relapsing fever in Colorado. Journal of the American Medical Association 249, No. 21.Google Scholar
1907. The part played by Pediculus corporis in the transmission of relapsing fever. British Medical Journal ii.Google Scholar
, and , eds. 1984. Principles of bacteriology, virology and immunity, 7th edition, Vol. 3. London.Google Scholar
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