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In 1901, the state of Montana organised for scientists and doctors to investigate a mysterious illness from the Bitterroot Valley called ‘Black measles’ and ‘Black typhus’. People of all ages were affected but predominantly those who worked in the brush and were exposed to tick bites. The investigators called it ‘tick fever’ and this particular strain had a mortality rate over eighty percent.

Today this disease is known as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In Australia, it is sometimes called ‘spotted fever’ or ‘Queensland tick typhus’. It is caused by an obligate intracellular bacterial micro-organism (needs a cell to survive). This organism is very difficult to culture and can be even more difficult to diagnose but surprisingly easy to treat. Rickettsial disease is an under-recognised infection and important in the differential diagnosis of any patients presenting with fevers, headaches and rash.

This is the story of Rickettsia

Our special guest: 

Our special guest is Professor Stephen Graves who is a medical microbiologist and founder of the Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory (ARRL). He specialises is infectious diseases transmitted by ectoparasites such as ticks, lice, fleas and mites.

This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services and Spotify.

In 1901, the state of Montana organised for scientists and doctors to investigate a mysterious illness from the Bitterroot Valley called ‘Black measles’ and ‘Black typhus’. People of all ages were affected but predominantly those who worked in the brush and were exposed to tick bites. The investigators called it ‘tick fever’ and this particular strain had a mortality rate over eighty percent.
Today this disease is known as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In Australia, it is sometimes called ‘spotted fever’ or ‘Queensland tick typhus’. It is caused by an obligate intracellular bacterial micro-organism (needs a cell to survive). This organism is very difficult to culture and can be even more difficult to diagnose but surprisingly easy to treat. Rickettsial disease is an under-recognised infection and important in the differential diagnosis of any patients presenting with fevers, headaches and rash.
This is the story of Rickettsia
Our special guest: 
Our special guest is Professor Stephen Graves who is a medical microbiologist and founder of the Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory (ARRL). He specialises is infectious diseases transmitted by ectoparasites such as ticks, lice, fleas and mites.
This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services and Spotify.

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine.


Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Production by Tim Whiffen

Design by Tom Buzz

This Medical Life

Discover the history of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, once called 'tick fever,' with Prof. Stephen Graves on This Medical Life Podcast.

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