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Volume 32, Number 9—September 2026
Research
Improved Case Detection of Fleaborne Typhus by PCR Testing, Los Angeles County, California, USA, 2022–2024
Table 1
Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with possible fleaborne typhus, comparing 114 patients with initial low-titer positive serologic results with 289 patients with initial high-titer positive serologic results, Los Angeles County, California, USA, 2022–2024
| Characteristics | Low-titer positive | High-titer positive |
|---|---|---|
| Age categories, y | ||
| 0–17 | 18 (16) | 37 (13) |
| 18–34 | 31 (27) | 56 (19) |
| 35–44 | 19 (17) | 53 (18) |
| 45–54 | 18 (16) | 53 (18) |
| >55 |
28 (25) |
90 (31) |
| Median age, y (range) |
39 (1–81) |
44 (2–87) |
| Sex | ||
| M | 60 (53) | 177 (61) |
| F | 54 (47) | 110 (38) |
| Other/unknown |
0 (0) |
2 (0.7) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| Hispanic/Latino | 69 (61) | 178 (62) |
| White | 24 (21) | 59 (21) |
| Asian | 6 (5) | 22 (8) |
| Other/unknown |
15 (13) |
22 (8) |
| Hospitalized | 97 (85) | 253 (88) |
| No. nights hospitalized, median (range) |
5 (1–23) |
5 (1–83) |
| Clinical characteristics | ||
| Fever | 114 (100) | 289 (100) |
| Headache | 76 (67) | 195 (68) |
| Muscle pain/myalgia | 69 (61) | 155 (54) |
| Nausea/vomiting† | 79 (69) | 158 (55) |
| Rash† |
57 (50) |
93 (32) |
| Hematology results | ||
| Thrombocytopenia, <150,000 platelets/µL† | 87 (76) | 177 (61) |
| Elevated ALT or AST, >40 IU/L |
105 (96) |
280 (98) |
| Treatment | 104 (91) | 244 (84) |
| No. days from specimen collection date to doxycycline treatment initiation, median (range) | 0 (–3 to 31) | 0 (–15 to 28) |
| Treated before or on same day of collection date | 66 (63) | 163 (67) |
| Treated >1 days after collection date |
38 (37) |
81 (33) |
| No. days from symptom onset date to specimen collection date† | ||
| <7 | 41 (36) | 50 (17) |
| 8–10 | 58 (51) | 101 (35) |
| >10 | 15 (13) | 138 (48) |
| Median (range)† | 8 (0–44) | 10 (2–65) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. †p value <0.05 for this variable indicating significance.
Page created: July 17, 2026
Page updated: August 12, 2026
Page reviewed: August 12, 2026
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