Ricketts, Howard T.
American pathologist and pioneering infectious disease expert (1871-1910) who was the first to establish the identity of the infectious organism that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He and others characterized the basic epidemiologic features of the disease, including the role of tick vectors. Their studies found that Rocky Mountain spotted fever is caused by a microorganism now called Rickettsia rickettsii. Tragically, Dr. Ricketts died of typhus (another rickettsial disease) in Mexico in 1910, shortly after completing his remarkable studies on Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
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- Rickettsia
A member of a group of microorganisms that (like viruses) require other living cells for growth but (like bacteria) use oxygen, have metabolic enzymes and cell walls, and are susceptible to antibiotics. Rickettsiae cause a series of diseases named for the American pathologist Howard Ricketts who discovered that ticks spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever and […]
- Rickettsial diseases
epidemic typhus, Brill-Zinsser disease, murine (endemic) typhus, and scrub typhus; (2) spotted fever-Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Eastern tick-borne rickettsioses, and rickettsialpox; (3) Q fever; and (4) trench fever.
- Rickettsialpox
A mild infectious disease first observed in New York City that is caused by Rickettsia akari and is transmitted from its mouse host by chigger or adult mite bites. Features include fever, a dark spot that becomes a small ulcer at the site of the bite, swollen glands (satellite lymphadenopathy) near the site of the […]
- Rickettsioses
The infectious diseases caused by the rickettsiae. See Rickettsial diseases.
- Rickettsioses of the eastern hemisphere, tick-born
There are 3 known diseases caused by infection with rickettsial agents. They are North Asian tick-borne rickettsiosis, Queensland tick typhus, and African tick typhus (fievre boutonneuse).