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1916 Pathologist Henrique da Rocha Lima identifies the causative agent (Rickettsia prowazeki) of epidemic typhus.
After a patient contracts epidemic typhus from the fecal matter of an infected louse (Pediculus humanus), the rickettsia can remain latent and reactivate months or years later, with symptoms similar to or even identical to the original attack of typhus, including a maculopapular rash.