They include:. The incubation period for the disease is five to 14 days, on average. Travelers who get typhus while traveling abroad may not experience symptoms until they are back home. This is why it is important to tell your doctor about any recent trips if you have any of the above symptoms. If you suspect that you have typhus, your doctor will ask about your symptoms and your medical history.
To help with the diagnosis, tell your doctor if you:. Delayed treatment and misdiagnosis can lead to a more severe case of typhus. Epidemics of typhus are more common in poor, unsanitary, and crowded areas. People who are most at risk of dying are generally those who are unable to afford quick treatments.
The overall mortality rate for untreated typhus depends on the type of typhus and other factors, such as age and overall health status. The highest rates are seen in the older adults and those who are malnourished.
Children usually recover from typhus. People with underlying diseases such as diabetes mellitus , alcoholism , or chronic renal disorders also have a higher risk of mortality.
Mortality for epidemic typhus that goes untreated can range from 10 to 60 percent, and mortality from untreated scrub typhus can range up to 30 percent. Read more: Nutritional deficiencies malnutrition ». Death occurs in no more than 4 percent of cases, according to an article in Clinical Infectious Diseases. During World War II, a vaccine was created to prevent epidemic typhus. However, the shrinking number of cases has stopped the manufacture of the vaccine.
The easiest way to prevent typhus is by avoiding the pests that spread it. Most people need to take antibiotics for 7 to 10 days , though some may require a longer course of treatment.
People who develop symptoms of typhus and have one or more risk factors for the disease should see a doctor. It is important to tell the doctor about all symptoms and any specific risk factors for typhus. This disease mimics the symptoms of other viral illnesses, such as the common cold and flu. There are currently no vaccines to prevent typhus, and there is no other way to guarantee its prevention. However, the following steps may reduce the risk of contracting typhus, particularly when traveling:.
Typhus infection is rare, even among people who travel to areas where the disease is more prevalent. Cold or flu-like symptoms usually signal a viral illness.
However, a person who has recently traveled or who believes they are at risk of typhus should see a doctor right away.
It is essential to see a doctor in the following cases:. Although they sound similar, typhus and typhoid are different diseases.
Like typhus, typhoid is a bacterial infection. People get typhoid from contact with a type of salmonella bacteria that are present in contaminated food and water. People may also contract typhoid from the feces of people and animals carrying the disease. Although common in developing nations with poor sanitation, typhoid is rare in high income nations, such as the United States.
Typhus was once a terrifying epidemic and a potential death sentence. A physician can make a diagnosis using different types of blood tests. Why are the names so similar? People thought they were the same disease until the s, when a physician determined that they were different infections. How common are these infections?
Los Angeles County sees an average of about 50 flea-borne typhus cases each year, except in when an outbreak caused that number to double. Typhoid fever, on the other hand, is less common in the U.
It often manifests after a patient has traveled to Asia or India. The California Department of Public Health gets reports of about 75 cases of typhoid fever in the state each year.
How are these diseases treated? Fortunately, both infections are treatable. They each respond to different types of antibiotics. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Epidemic Typhus. Minus Related Pages. On This Page. Figure 1: Pediculus humanus corporis, the human body louse.
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