Question 1

what are the symptoms of typhus infection?

Accepted Answer

Fever, headache,rash: Typhus comes in different forms.  Epidemic typhus spread by clothing (body) lice.  Murine typhus spread by rodent fleas.  Scrub typhus spread by chiggers.  Of these, murine typhus is not uncommon in the usa. Indeed, southern california, especially around long beach seems to be a "hot bed" of late for murine typhus.

Question 2

how many people died from typhus?

Accepted Answer

Refer to WHO: Please refer to the World Health Organization (WHO) website for more information on Typhus. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs162/en/

Question 3

is lice a common vector for typhus?

Accepted Answer

Terminology issues: Lice most often refers to head lice, pediculosis humanus capitis. Another species, pediculosis  humanus corporis is gererally referred to as the body  louse.The body louse is  a vector for typhus and head lice are just a pest.

Question 4

why might someone need a typhus vaccine for diving?

Accepted Answer

Typhoid: The vaccine is recommended if traveling to a part of the world where Typhoid is endemic (does not substitute for caution when eating/drinking).  Not required for diving, but for travel.

Question 5

is there a typhus vaccine, and is it for the plague?

Accepted Answer

No, and no: Plague is a bacterial infection caused by Yersinia pestis.  Typhus is a rickettsial infection caused by a variety of rickettsia.  Vaccines against typhus are not widely used or available.  Typhoid fever (unrelated to typhus) is a bacterial infection caused by Salmonella typhi.  There are typhoid vaccines available, which are recommended for people traveling to endemic areas.

Question 6

what causes typhus?

Accepted Answer

Rickettsia: There are different types of typhus, each transmitted by different arthropods.
Epidemic typhus spread by body (clothing) lice, endemic (murine) typhus spread by fleas, scrub typhus spread by mites.

Question 7

what disease is like typhus?

Accepted Answer

Typhoid: Typhoid is called that because it is typhus-like, given that name before the modern era of microbiology.  There are milder "typhus" diseases including scrub typhus and murine typhus that are caused by different rickettsia.  There is also recrudescent typhus, called brill-zinsser disease, a rarely reported disease from latent organisms, often decades after typhus.

Question 8

how many people re diagnosed with typhus?

Accepted Answer

Depends on the type: Epidemic typhus occurs sporadically in times of war, famine or rebellion but is not seen as much any more.  Outbreaks have occurred in burundi and several other areas of africa.  Endemic (murine) typhus is found in many areas of the world including the usa and northern india.  There is currently an outbreak in the los angeles area.

Question 9

what is typhus and what causes it? and how to cure it

Accepted Answer

Typhus: There are several kinds of typhus, all caused by organisms in the rickettsia genus.  It's transmitted to humans by fleas, ticks, and parasites on the skin of flying squirrels. It's treated with doxycycline. We don't see much typhus in the U.S., but there are occasional cases of epidemic or sylvatic typhus here.

Question 10

what is the best way to prevent typhus?

Accepted Answer

Doxycycline: If you are talking about classical epidemic typhus, oral Doxycycline can prevent it.

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Scrub typhus symptoms

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What are the symptoms of typhus infection?

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Is lice a common vector for typhus?

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Why might someone need a typhus vaccine for diving?

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Is there a typhus vaccine, and is it for the plague?

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What causes typhus?

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What disease is like typhus?

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How many people re diagnosed with typhus?

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What is typhus and what causes it? and how to cure it

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What is the best way to prevent typhus?

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