What is "rickettsialpox"

n. An illness caused by bacteria of the ''Rickettsia'' genus.

n. mild infectious rickettsial disease caused by a bacterium of the genus Rickettsia transmitted to humans by the bite a mite that lives on rodents; characterized by chills and fever and headache and skin lesions that resemble chickenpox

Rickettsialpox is a mite-borne infectious illness caused by bacteria of the Rickettsia genus ( Rickettsia akari). Physician Robert Huebner and self-trained entomologist Charles Pomerantz played major roles in identifying the etiology of the disease after an outbreak in 1946 in a New York City apartment complex, documented in medical writer Berton Roueché's short story, "The Alerting of Mr. Pomerantz."

Although it is not transmitted by a tick (a characteristic of spotted fever), the bacteria is a part of the spotted fever group of Rickettsia, and so this condition is often classified with that group.