What is Typhus, How can we prevent it.

Have you experience what they called hallucination, its a experience of something you see but not real.

 

 

Dated back When I was 12 years old, in our province in Bulacan, I don’t know but at that time I have a high fever I was lying in our bed when I saw four carpenter working in our roof look like its under construction, I also heard the sound of hummer and saw, I ask my mother what I saw, but my mother told me, to just sleep,  maybe my mother knows I’m in the state of delirium and I raises from bed to drink water I wear a slipper but I had no slipper, I go to our kitchen and drink water using my hand that in my mind I had a glass for water, I don’t know if I’m dreaming or not but according to the doctor what happened to me is hallucination because of high fever called typhus, sound like my fever affected my mind, other say that typhus can also lost your hair.

I thought typhus and typhoid is the same but like me many people occasionally equate typhus with typhoid, this is incorrect but easily understandable due to the evolving understanding of diseases. both diseases have in common the symptom of high fever, and the major species of Rickettsia that causes endemic typhus is still termed "typhi," but the causes, transmission, and pathology of these diseases are quite different the typhoid are cause by Salmonella bacteria.

Typhus is a bacterial disease spread by lice or fleas. A disease caused by bacteria mainly Rickettsia typhi or R. prowazekii

Bacteria Rickettsia

The bacteria are small and very difficult to cultivate; originally they were thought to be viruses. The disease occurs after bacteria Rickettsia spp. are transferred to humans usually by vectors such as fleas or lice that have acquired the bacteria from animals such as rats, cats, opossums, raccoons, and other animals. 

 

There are two major types of typhus: endemic (or murine typhus) and epidemic typhus.

 

Endemic typhus is also termed murine typhus and "jail fever." "Endemic typhus" also means that an area or region has an animal population usually mice, rats, or squirrels, that has members of its population continually infected with R. typhi that through flea vectors can incidentally infect humans.

Epidemic typhus is the more severe form of typhus. It has also been termed recrudescent or sporadic typhus. "Epidemic typhus" also means that a few animals, usually rats via lice vectors, can incidentally infect large numbers of humans quickly when certain environmental conditions are present such as poor hygiene, poverty, crowded human living conditions with the more pathogenic R. prowazekii.

What is the cause of typhus fever?

Typhus fevers are caused by the rickettsiae bacteria and transmitted by arthropod like flea, mite, tick bites. When arthropods bite a victim, they leave the rickettsaie bacteria behind. Scratching the bite opens the skin to the bacteria, allowing them to enter the bloodstream. Within the blood stream, the bacteria grow and replicate.

Symptoms of endemic typhus may include:

Abdominal pain Backache Diarrheal Dull red rash that begins on the middle of the body and spreads extremely high fever (105 - 106 degrees Fahrenheit), which may last up to 2 weeks hacking, dry cough Headache Joint and muscle pain Nausea Vomiting

Symptoms of epidemic typhus may include:

Rash caused by epidemic typhus

Chills Cough Delirium High fever (104 degrees Fahrenheit) Joint pain (arthralgia) Lights that appear very bright; light may hurt the eyes Low blood pressure Rash that begins on the chest and spreads to the rest of the body (except the palms of the hands and soles of the feet) Severe headache Severe muscle pain (myalgia) Stupor

The early rash is a light rose colour and fades when you press on it. Later, the rash becomes dull and red and does not fade. People with severe typhus may also develop small areas of bleeding into the skin (petechiae).

Exams and Tests will conduct to find out if you are Positive.

A complete blood count (CBC) may show anemia and low platelets. Other blood tests for typhus may show: High level of typhus antibodies Low level of albumin Low sodium level Mild kidney failure mildly high liver enzymes

How to Treat it? Treatment includes antibiotics such as:

 

Doxycycline Tetracycline Chloramphenicol (less common) Tetracycline taken by mouth can permanently stain teeth that are still forming. It is usually not prescribed for children until after all of their permanent teeth have grown in. Patients with epidemic typhus may need intravenous fluids and oxygen.

Without treatment, death may occur in 10 - 60% of patients with epidemic typhus. Patients over age 60 have the highest risk of death. Patients who receive treatment quickly should completely recover. Less than 2% of untreated patients with murine typhus may die. Prompt antibiotic treatment will cure nearly all patients.

Possible Complications Renal insufficiency Pneumonia Central nervous system damage.

How we can Prevent it?

Prevention Avoid areas where you might encounter rat fleas or lice. 

Good sanitation and public health measures reduce the rat population. 

Measures to get rid of lice when an infection has been found include: Bathing Boiling clothes or avoiding infested clothing for at least 5 days (lice will die without feeding on blood) 

Using insecticides (10% DDT, 1% malathion, or 1% permethrin)

Maintaining personal hygiene (helps guard against lice carrying the disease) controlling the rodent population (rodents are known to carry arthropods) avoiding places where exposure has occurred (typhus has been responsible for epidemics and outbreaks) chemoprophylaxis with doxycycline (used as a preventative only in those at high risk, such as those on humanitarian campaigns in areas with extreme poverty and little or no sanitation)

Sources.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhus

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=146835&page=2 

http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/typhus/overview.html 

http://www.healthline.com/health/typhus?toptoctest=expand