Silent Killer in South Texas: Woman Shares Warning Amid Record Typhus Spike

By The Blogging Hounds South Texas is facing a silent summer outbreak of Typhus, a bacterial disease with flu-like symptoms, as cases spike and leave residents scrambling for answers. One San Antonio woman, Dana Clark, is raising the alarm after a three-month battle with the disease nearly cost her life. Gardening Hobby Turns DeadlyClark, a…

By The Blogging Hounds

South Texas is facing a silent summer outbreak of Typhus, a bacterial disease with flu-like symptoms, as cases spike and leave residents scrambling for answers. One San Antonio woman, Dana Clark, is raising the alarm after a three-month battle with the disease nearly cost her life.

Gardening Hobby Turns Deadly
Clark, a resident of the Southeast Side neighborhood Highland Park, enjoys spending time in her garden. But earlier this summer, routine yard work may have exposed her to a dangerous bacterial infection spread by fleas, lice, and mites.

“I had been out in the yard pulling up old wild flowers and shaking dust off the roots,” Clark explained. “I thought I just had the flu—but it was so much worse.”

Typhus on the Rise
Murine Typhus, though historically endemic to San Antonio, is seeing a surge this year. According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, 550 cases have already been reported in 2025—on pace to exceed previous years.

“San Antonio has endemic for this infection,” said Dr. Christopher Dayton, a University Health emergency medicine physician. “Even farther south in the Rio Grande Valley they have even higher rates.”

For comparison, Texas reported 847 cases in 2024, up from 580 in 2022, signaling a steady upward trend.

Misdiagnosis Prolongs Suffering
Clark’s ordeal highlights a key problem: Typhus is often misdiagnosed as the flu, delaying proper treatment. Clark endured three months of fever, chills, and fatigue before an infectious disease specialist confirmed the diagnosis.

“There’s a delay in diagnosis,” Dr. Dayton explained. “Symptoms are very similar to the flu, and many cases for July and August may not even be reported yet.”

Raising Awareness to Save Lives
Now fully recovered, Clark is on a mission to educate the public about early testing, stressing the importance of seeing a specialist if symptoms persist.

“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.”

Doctors agree: early testing and proper treatment are key to a fast recovery and preventing serious complications.

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