Murine Typhus in Drug Detoxification Facility, Yunnan Province, China, 2010

摘要

To the Editor: An outbreak of murine typhus caused by Rickettsia typhi was confi rmed among persons attending a 51-acre drug detoxifi cation program 2.5 km from Ruili City in Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Ruili City, with an average altitude of 1,381 km, is located in southwestern China near the Myanmar border (Figure). At the time of the outbreak, the detoxifi cation program had 1,264 inpatients and 96 staff members. The facility is divided into sections A (women), B, C, and D. Residents of each section are housed in a 4-story building; each . oor contains 9 rooms (2 m2per person). During September 4–21, 2010, a total of 76 of the 430 residents of section B were reported with fever of unknown cause. All patients were men 19–38 years of age who worked in clothing manufacture at the facility and were receiving treatment for drug addiction. Before the outbreak, rats and stray cats were frequently observed in a cafeteria in section B. No persons with similar illness were observed in the other 3 sections