Epidemic typhus (also called camp fever, jail fever, hospital fever, ship fever, famine fever, putrid fever, petechial fever, Epidemic louse-borne typhus, and louse-borne typhus) is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters.ymptoms include severe headache, a sustained high fever, cough, rash, severe muscle pain, chills, falling blood pressure, stupor, sensitivity to light, delirium and death.