SAN ANTONIO – Dana Clark enjoys gardening in Southeast Side neighborhood Highland Park. Earlier this summer, it landed her in the hospital and nearly cost her life.
Clark was diagnosed with Murine Typhus, a bacterial disease spread by fleas, lice and mites. She believes she contracted the disease while gardening.
“I had been out in the yard pulling up old wild flowers and shaking dust off the roots,” Clark said.
Experts say they see an increase in cases every summer in South Texas.
“San Antonio has endemic for this infection,” said Dr. Christopher Dayton, a University Health emergency medicine physician, “but even farther south in the Rio Grande Valley they have even higher rates.”
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services has reported 550 cases of Typhus so far this year. Dr. Dayton said that is relatively high for this time of the year.
“There’s a delay in diagnosis,” Dayton said. “The (cases) for August, July might not even be in there yet.”
Texas reported 847 cases total in 2024, according to the state health department. That figure is in line with 2023 reports, but significantly increased from the 580 total cases reported in 2022.
Clark said she was originally misdiagnosed with the flu, which prolonged her recovery from a few days to three months.
Typhus symptoms can be similar to the flu, Dayton said, including high fever, chills and low appetite.
Clark did not get tested for Typhus by an infectious disease specialist until after her symptoms had not improved for two weeks.
Now that she’s recovered, she wants to raise awareness so others will get tested earlier.
Dayton said Typhus tests can help patients receive the right treatment and put on a quick path to recovery.
“It’s not like it’s gonna happen to everybody who gardens,” Clark said, “but the severity of it, and the fact that it’s misdiagnosed all the time — if you do get it, it can stop your life.”
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