Maui mice LAHAINA >> Five cases of murine typhus have been confirmed in the state this year, including four in Kihei, where there has been a jump in the number of mice from dry upland areas.
spread typhus
4 of 5 confirmed cases this year
are in Kihei, with a possible
sixth case in LahainaBy Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.comThe other confirmed case involved a woman in Eleele, Kauai. All victims were adults, with the oldest one 57 years old.
Murine typhus is spread typically through a flea biting a rodent carrying the bacterial-like infection called Rickettsia typhi, and then biting a human being.
The Kauai case occurred in May. The Kihei cases included two in March, one in April and one in May.
State and federal health officials are investigating a sixth case in Lahaina, where a man tested positive for typhus but showed unusually severe symptoms, including encephalitis and kidney failure. While the man tested positive for typhus, state officials have asked federal officials to investigate further because of the severity of his illness.
The Lahaina man, Steve Pysz, an avid water skier and a massage therapist, is recovering at an Oahu hospital after a three-week coma, said his friend and roommate Dan Regan.
"He's kind of coming out of it," Regan said.
Regan said Pysz, who contracted the illness in June, plans to be flown to a hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., where he will undergo rehabilitation.
Besides Pysz, a pregnant Kihei woman who had typhus was hospitalized for dehydration and later released.
The tests were confirmed through a California laboratory regularly used by the state Health Department, an official said.
Paul Kitsutani, a medical officer with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stationed on Oahu, said the numbers are not enough to regard the illnesses as an epidemic.
>> Symptoms: Fever, rash, and body and headaches. MURINE TYPHUS
>> Cause: A bacterial-like infection called Rickettsia typhi, transmitted by a rodent flea.
>> Treatment: Antibiotics, such as doxycycline.
>> Control: Clear garbage and keep food in rodent-proof containers. Treat outside of house with flea spray before setting rodent traps. Check spray label for warnings about potential dangers to children and other animals.
"Right now, there is no typhus epidemic," Kitsutani said. "We have typhus every year."
Kitsutani said that in the last decade, the state has had about five reported cases of typhus a year, ranging annually from one to 10 cases. Maui had two confirmed cases last year, he said.
Kitsutani said mice and rats are the primary carriers of the fleas, but there have been less common reports of domestic animals transmitting the disease, including cats.
Murine typhus typically causes body aches, headaches, rash and a fever, and is usually gone is two weeks after treatment, he said.
Kitsutani said murine typhus can on rare occasions cause severe symptoms.
He said tests of the case involving the Lahaina man have been sent to the CDC because of his unusually severe illness.
Kitsutani said state health officials are developing educational material to inform the public how to avoid typhus infections.
"It's important to control rodents, but you also have to get rid of the fleas," he said.
He noted that not all rodents carry the murine typhus disease. People who contract typhus usually get better after being treated with antibiotics, including doxycycline, he said.
The worry about typhus has increased on the Valley Isle, where there has been an increasing presence of rodents in residential areas in the last few months.
In south Lahaina, where Pysz lived in a house along Front Street, fallen mangoes attracted rats.
"I've seen a lot of rats going through there. I've shot a couple of them," said Regan, who recalled shoveling eight barrels of mango shortly after Pysz got sick.
Regan said Psyz frequently complained about getting bitten by fleas.
Herbert Matsubayashi, the Maui District environmental health program director, said a number of rainy months increased the food supply for mice in brush lands, and a recent decrease in food because of dry conditions probably is causing them to move into residential areas.
Matsubayashi said he has been receiving about one to two complaints a day, mainly from Maui Meadows in south Maui, and Puamana and Launiupoko in west Maui. He said state health officials have been placing poisoned bait in vacant lots in areas of Kihei, Wailea and Launiupoko.
Matsubayashi recommended glue traps for capturing the mice. He said residents could easily dispose of them in a tied plastic bag.
Officials advised spraying flea killer or flea powder before setting traps.
The demand for mouse traps has jumped on Maui.
"We've been running out of covered mouse traps," said Teresa Sur, a supervisor at Safeway in Kihei.
