Category 10C Ohio Fumigation Practice Test

Murine typhus is caused by a rickettsial infection carried by fleas. The bacteria live in the flea and are shed in its feces. Transmission to a person occurs when those flea feces are introduced into the body, most commonly by aerosols or by entering mucous membranes or wounds. Inhalation of aerosolized flea droppings is a recognized route, especially in enclosed or dusty settings with high flea contamination. That’s why inhalation of droppings is identified as the mechanism here.

Ingesting contaminated water or having a flea bite alone isn’t the typical route for this infection, and while scratching contaminated feces into a wound can also transmit the organism, the inhalation pathway is the mechanism highlighted in this scenario.