What is the difference between symptoms

Hepatitis disease is a common health problem in developing countries such as Indonesia. Just like hepatitis, typhus is also an infectious disease that threatens the health of the people of the country. Both of these diseases can also be caused by poor personal hygiene. Then what is the difference between typhus and hepatitis?

What is typhus?

According to the CDC, typhus or typhoid fever is an acute infection caused by bacteria Salmonella. These bacteria enter the human body through food or drink contaminated with feces.

Salmonella bacteria attack the small intestine of humans, then reproduce and spread. The incubation period or the onset of symptoms since bacteria enter the body of typhus sufferers takes approximately 14 days.

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammatory condition that occurs in human liver cells that can be caused by infections (viruses, bacteria, toxins, parasites), drugs (including traditional medicines), alcohol consumption, and autoimmune diseases. Hepatitis also has several types based on the virus that attacks it, namely hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.

The incubation period for people with hepatitis takes varying degrees, hepatitis A requires an average incubation period of 28 days, hepatitis B 120 days, and hepatitis C 45 days.

What is the difference between typhus and hepatitis symptoms?

In general, there are some of the same symptoms between typhus and hepatitis, namely nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fever, decreased appetite, and abdominal pain. However, there is the main symptom that distinguishes typhus and hepatitis, namely the occurrence of jaundice (jaundice) in hepatitis patients.

Jaundice or what is often called jaundice is a condition in which the body's tissues turn yellow due to the decreased concentration of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid in patients who have hepatitis. While typhus does not occur this symptom, but can find pink spots on the chest of typhus patients.

In addition, people who have hepatitis usually have fever symptoms. but the difference is that in typhoid sufferers, body temperature tends to increase towards the afternoon, and will decrease to near normal again in the morning.

What is the difference between typhus and hepatitis in terms of disease transmission?

In typhus, transmission can occur through drinking or food contaminated with salmonella typhi. The food or drink is contaminated by flies that previously stuck to the vomit, urine and feces of typhus sufferers. Food also enters the human digestive tract, some of the germs from these foods die by the influence of stomach acid and some can pass into the small intestine.

After entering the small intestine, germs enter the lymph nodes, blood vessels, and throughout the body (especially the liver and bile) so that the urine of the sufferer contains salmonella bacteria which are ready to contaminate other humans.

In hepatitis, transmission varies according to the type of virus. In hepatitis A and E, transmission is similar to typhus, which generally occurs due to contamination of drinking water, uncooked food, contaminated food, poor sanitation, and poor body hygiene.

Meanwhile, 95% of hepatitis B transmission occurs during childbirth (relationship between mother and child). But it can also occur through blood transfusions, tainted needles, razors, tattoos, or organ transplants. Hepatitis C transmission can occur through blood and body fluids.

What is the difference in treatment for people with hepatitis and typhus?

Typhus is usually treated with antibiotics by a doctor, while hepatitis is different. In hepatitis A sufferers, there is no special treatment, only supporting treatment and nutritional balance is maintained. For people with hepatitis types B, C, D will be given special antiviral and interferon.

How about prevention?

Typhus, hepatitis A, and E can be prevented by maintaining a clean environment, especially the cleanliness of food and beverages such as washing hands before eating, drinking, and processing food ingredients. In addition, cook food and beverage ingredients until cooked.

For people with hepatitis B, C, and D, this can be done by avoiding sexual contact with an infected person, avoiding sharing needles, toothbrushes, and shaving tools.

In addition, be careful with the use of tattoo-making tools and piercing tools that are not guaranteed to be clean. For newborns, there are immunizations that can prevent hepatitis transmission.