A typhoid patient can report with vomiting and stool passing issues along with high fever. (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock) Owing to the symptoms of COVID 19, it is often confused with regular cough, cold, flu and in some cases, even typhoid. So how can one differentiate between typhoid fever and COVID, both of which require timely medical treatment?
Understand the basic mechanism of this rapid virus spread and take precautions accordingly, says Dr Gaurav Jain, consultant, internal medicine, Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital. But in some cases, COVID infection aggravates and leads to patients having typhoid fever. In such a case, what precautions one must take to decrease the level of risk?
“To begin with, it must be understood that typhoid is caused by bacteria called salmonella typhi. After infection, it remains in the human body for one-two weeks and gradually starts showing symptoms like high fever, repeated episodes of vomiting, stomach ache etc. It affects the intestine and enters the bloodstream as well. Exposure to contaminated water, unhygienic food are the prime sources of this infection,” Dr Jain tells indianexpress.com.
COVID and typhoid
While there is no direct relation between COVID and typhoid infection, in some cases of COVID infection, typhoid also comes positive and one needs to get further tests done to get confirmation, says Dr Jain. “The bacteria causing typhoid also enters the bloodstream. Hence chances of typhoid infection are expected in a person infected with covid. Also, COVID weakens the body’s defence mechanism making it prone to other infections and diseases, including typhoid. A typhoid patient can report with vomiting and stool passing issues along with high fever,” he says.
Similarly, apart from the respiratory organs, COVID infection also affects blood vessels, which aggravates conditions like diabetes, high BP, and other neurological problems.
How to prevent these infections?
*Handwashing is one of the major precautions to prevent both these infections.
*A strong immune system helps fight these infections.
*These measures need to be complemented with leading a healthy lifestyle which can help in reducing the risk.
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