Figure 1.

The Pioneers. (Left) James E. Paullin. Paullin described the first cases of flea-borne typhus (FBT) in 1913 while at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Paullin later served as physician to President Franklin Roosevelt [82]. (Right) Kenneth F. Maxcy of the US Public Health Service. Maxcy was among the first to propose a rodent reservoir for FBT and published the first comprehensive clinical description of “endemic typhus”. In 1952 Maxcy was awarded the Sedgwick Memorial Medal for Distinguished Service in Public Health, the most prestigious award of the American Public Health Association [83].