Typhus outbreak handling draws ire

From statesman, August 22, 2008...

Catherine Best went to Seton Medical Center three times in May with a headache that, she said, hurt worse than natural childbirth. It wasn't until the third visit — when she could barely stand up — that she was admitted with a mystery illness.

Best, 52, said she missed nearly two months of work as an archivist at the University of Texas and didn't know what had made her ill. Neither did her doctor. But after reading an American-Statesman article Aug. 7, they began to wonder.

The story described an outbreak of typhus in Travis County. The illness, more commonly seen in South Texas, is transmitted by fleas from infected rats, opossums and cats and can cause severe headaches, high fevers, nausea and a rash. It has been a rarity in Travis County in recent decades and if untreated, it can be fatal in about 2 to 4 percent of cases.

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New Round Rock Hospital To have $1 Billion Impact

From statesman.com February 8, 2008...

Seton Medical Center Williamson opens 181-bed facility in Round Rock.

Officials project that the new hospital will have about $1 billion in economic impact within the next 15 years.

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