Typhus is in the news at the moment. But what is it? Some kind of Greek god? An indie band?

Well no it’s an infectious disease.

So how do you get it and how do you know if you’ve got it? Well don’t worry, Virtually Doctor Rick is here. So let’s get medical -- I mean virtual…

Typhus has been around for centuries, and isn’t singular, but a group of diseases. Two of which are epidemic typhus and Murine endemic typhus. But which is which?

Epidemic typhus is the one that’s been responsible for the death of millions throughout the centuries. It’s a human-to-human disease that spreads rapidly. Thankfully, a typhus epidemic is a very rare event in the world.

Endemic or murine typhus is something that occurs in a place and group where it’s normally present, like you’d expect there to be malaria if you visit Africa or parts of India. And endemic or murine typhus is something that is actually common to Southern California. 

It’s not spread by humans but through contact with infected fleas -- most importantly their feces, when it gets into cuts or scraped skin on the human body. The fleas love rats. But they can also live on mice, cats and opossums.

So how do you get it? (Not that you’d want it!)

Conditions in downtown L.A. on Skid Row are pretty poor right now. With rising numbers of homeless people there’s only going to be more waste on the streets. Add hotter weather to the mix and you have the perfect conditions for rats and fleas to have a disgusting party.

If you live in these appalling conditions, chances are you could become infected with Typhus.

How do you know if you’ve got it?

Symptoms can take a couple of weeks to show up and include body aches and pains, fever and chills, vomiting, coughing, stomach pains and even a rash. Most people recover without treatment, but if it’s left to fester it can damage organs, like the heart, lungs, and brain.

And because a blood test can take several weeks to give you an answer you’ll probably start treatment before you get the results -- most typically an antibiotic, doxycycline.

How do we fix the downtown typhus problem?

Hygiene!

But respectfully. It’s easy to blame someone for being homeless -- but the reasons they’re on the street are usually complex and we need to activate our compassion as “there but for the grace of work, pay, and family go we!”

So, we have to help the homeless -- give them somewhere to wash their clothes, bring them new ones entirely, provide portable showers, remove trash quickly to cut down the numbers of rats and vermin especially with an extermination program. Provide insect repellent sprays and veterinary support to de-flea their pets.

Then, the bigger picture is making more and more low-income housing available as well as counseling and medical services to help with mental and physical health. This problem isn’t going to go away by itself -- we all have to get involved. And perhaps rebrand homelessness to something we can all better understand: Human Helplessness.