[1] Physician Robert Huebner and self-trained entomologist Charles Pomerantz played major roles in identifying the cause of the disease after an outbreak in 1946 in a New York City apartment complex, documented in "The Alerting of Mr. Pomerantz," an article by medical writer Berton Roueché.

[citation needed] Those dwelling in urban areas (which typically experience rodent problems) have a higher risk of contracting rickettsialpox.

[citation needed] The initial outbreak of the disease took place in the Regency Park complex which had 69 apartment units organized in three groups each three stories in height, located in Kew Gardens, in the New York City borough of Queens.

Lymph nodes would become enlarged and about a week after the initial bite patients would start to experience chills, fever and headaches, accompanied by a maculopapular rash.

Garbage disposed of through incinerator chutes was to be burned on a daily basis, with the ashes carted off by the New York City Department of Sanitation.

Due to labor shortages, the material was not burned regularly, leaving ample food for the rodents.

[5] Pest control measures were undertaken through the New York City Department of Health and its commissioner Israel Weinstein to eliminate the mice in and around the buildings with the cooperation of property owners.