Queensland tick typhus (QTT), first identified in northern Queensland Australia during the 1940s, is caused by Rickettsia australis. The vectors of this SFG rickettsia are ticks of the genus Ixodes, particularly Ixodes holocyclus and Ixodes tasmani. QTT occurs along the entire eastern coast of Australia, from Cape York (Queensland) in the north to Wilson’s Promontory (Victoria) in the south. Until more recently QTT was considered rather benign in it’s course, but a 2007 report included renal failure, purpura fulminans and severe pneumonia as complications in 3 patients.