Most rickettsial pathogens are transmitted by lice and ticks by scratching crushed arthropods or infectious feces into the skin.
Rickettsia prowazekii is the agent in epidemic typhus, it is in the feces of human body lice. The louse will bite the human and poop. When the human scratches the bite mark it becomes itchy and the human pushes the feces into their flesh. It remains infective for months. The incubation period is one to two weeks.
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