From Alzheimer’s to Zebrafish: Eclectic Science and Regulatory Stories 146
Komorn in 1566, a disease broke out that was undoubtedly typhus. It was so violent and
deadly that the campaign against the Turks was ended.
Typhus has single-handedly played a part in a number of major battles throughout
the ages. In 1632, during the Thirty Years War, Gustavus Adolphus and Wallentine faced
each other before Nuremberg, which was the goal of both armies. Typhus and scurvy
killed 18,000 soldiers, whereupon both the opposing forces marched away in the hope of
escaping further ravages of the pestilence.17 In November 1741, Prague was surrendered to
the French army because 30,000 of the opposing Austrians died of typhus.
Even Napoleon, thought to be one of history’s greatest generals, was helpless when
pitted against the tactics of typhus, dysentery and pneumonia. During his invasion of
Russia, his army suffered from a lack of water and insufficient changes of clothing, mak-
ing bodily cleanliness impossible. Fear of a Russian attack caused the men to sleep close
together in large groups. The lice of infested hovels crept everywhere, clung to the seams
of clothing, to the hair, and bore with them the organisms of typhus. Disease alone robbed
Napoleon’s army of more than one-fifth of its effective strength during the first month of
the war.18 In 1914–15, typhus was the disease that prevented Austria from invading Serbia,
an incursion that could have changed the outcome of World War I.19
Treatment
The first product used to treat head lice was DDT. It was developed after World War II and
hailed as a breakthrough at the time. However, because of environmental concerns, its use
has been curtailed. Currently, 1% permethrin lotion is recommended as one of the drugs
of choice for head lice. It is a synthetic pyrethroid with extremely low mammalian toxic-
ity. In cases where resistance to permethrin is common, or in cases of treatment failures,
malathion or benzyl alcohol may be considered.20 These agents must be used according to
product instructions to maximize efficacy. Some experts feel that recurrence of lice is not
due to resistance, but rather to inappropriate use of the medications.
Antibiotics are used to treat epidemic typhus. According to the Merck Manual,
tetracyclines (doxycycline) and chloramphenical are specifically effective they are rick-
ettsiostatic, not rickettsicidal.21 Patients seriously ill with typhus often have circulatory
collapse, oliguria, anuria, azotemia, hyponatremia, hypochloremia, edema and coma.
Fatalities are rare in children, but mortality increases with age and may reach 60% in
untreated persons.
Final Thoughts
There is no better way to close this article than to quote from Hans Zinsser’s book written
in 1935.22 It remains a masterpiece of science writing:
“Typhus is not dead. It will live on for centuries, and it will continue to break into the
open whenever human stupidity and brutality give it a chance, as most likely they
occasionally will. But its freedom of action is being restricted, and more and more it
will be confined, like other savage creatures, in the zoological gardens of controlled
diseases.”
*The organism responsible for epidemic typhus is named after an American, Howard
Taylor Ricketts, and an Australian, Stanislaus Joseph von Prowazek, both of whom died
while investigating the disease.
Komorn in 1566, a disease broke out that was undoubtedly typhus. It was so violent and
deadly that the campaign against the Turks was ended.
Typhus has single-handedly played a part in a number of major battles throughout
the ages. In 1632, during the Thirty Years War, Gustavus Adolphus and Wallentine faced
each other before Nuremberg, which was the goal of both armies. Typhus and scurvy
killed 18,000 soldiers, whereupon both the opposing forces marched away in the hope of
escaping further ravages of the pestilence.17 In November 1741, Prague was surrendered to
the French army because 30,000 of the opposing Austrians died of typhus.
Even Napoleon, thought to be one of history’s greatest generals, was helpless when
pitted against the tactics of typhus, dysentery and pneumonia. During his invasion of
Russia, his army suffered from a lack of water and insufficient changes of clothing, mak-
ing bodily cleanliness impossible. Fear of a Russian attack caused the men to sleep close
together in large groups. The lice of infested hovels crept everywhere, clung to the seams
of clothing, to the hair, and bore with them the organisms of typhus. Disease alone robbed
Napoleon’s army of more than one-fifth of its effective strength during the first month of
the war.18 In 1914–15, typhus was the disease that prevented Austria from invading Serbia,
an incursion that could have changed the outcome of World War I.19
Treatment
The first product used to treat head lice was DDT. It was developed after World War II and
hailed as a breakthrough at the time. However, because of environmental concerns, its use
has been curtailed. Currently, 1% permethrin lotion is recommended as one of the drugs
of choice for head lice. It is a synthetic pyrethroid with extremely low mammalian toxic-
ity. In cases where resistance to permethrin is common, or in cases of treatment failures,
malathion or benzyl alcohol may be considered.20 These agents must be used according to
product instructions to maximize efficacy. Some experts feel that recurrence of lice is not
due to resistance, but rather to inappropriate use of the medications.
Antibiotics are used to treat epidemic typhus. According to the Merck Manual,
tetracyclines (doxycycline) and chloramphenical are specifically effective they are rick-
ettsiostatic, not rickettsicidal.21 Patients seriously ill with typhus often have circulatory
collapse, oliguria, anuria, azotemia, hyponatremia, hypochloremia, edema and coma.
Fatalities are rare in children, but mortality increases with age and may reach 60% in
untreated persons.
Final Thoughts
There is no better way to close this article than to quote from Hans Zinsser’s book written
in 1935.22 It remains a masterpiece of science writing:
“Typhus is not dead. It will live on for centuries, and it will continue to break into the
open whenever human stupidity and brutality give it a chance, as most likely they
occasionally will. But its freedom of action is being restricted, and more and more it
will be confined, like other savage creatures, in the zoological gardens of controlled
diseases.”
*The organism responsible for epidemic typhus is named after an American, Howard
Taylor Ricketts, and an Australian, Stanislaus Joseph von Prowazek, both of whom died
while investigating the disease.