Typhus thrives in bad times

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Typhus fever while hiking? High fever, a headache, plus a rash are the telltale
signs along with muscle and joint pain, yet it's tricky to diagnose this
infection caused by chiggers, fleas, lice, mites and ticks.

Happy endings...
So, in summary, infected lice, mites, fleas and ticks hitch a ride on
mice, rats, squirrels and even pets to spread Typhus fever, like the
bubonic plague. It's an awful disease, but thankfully Typhus fever
is extremely rare in the United States and if you're healthy, have
antibiotics, and can steer clear of the filth, the prognosis of
survival is good. Preppers must simply realize that poor sanitation
and apocalyptic conditions starts the vicious cycle. I short preppers
must be aware and have a plan. You're halfway there having read
this article on Typhus.

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Prepare to live happily ever after with us at happypreppers.com - the Web site of
emergency preparedness, prepping, survival, and homesteading.

Typhus Fevers
Be aware and prepare for Typhus!

When times are bad, Typhus thrives...
Typhus was once a rare disease you might get hiking in the
woods, but nowadays you can get a Typhus fever alongside the
homeless of skid row in Los Angeles, where rats thrive in human
waste, hypodermic needles and mounds of trash. It's a medieval
disease, but today lawyers, social workers, police officers and
their families are getting Typhus. You could be next, unless you
take steps to prepare.

When conditions get really bad: expect that Typhus will surface.
Below is everything a prepper needs to know about Typhus to
prepare for the inevitable...

Prepare to Survive Typhus!
Typhus thrives in bad times, which is why preppers should have
this disease in their purview. It's an awful disease. Typhus is a
horribly painful condition that starts with the contaminated feces
of lice or fleas which harbor a deadly bacteria. The lice and fleas
hitch a ride on rats, then bite and poop on their human hosts.
Nice, eh? When a person scratches a bite from infected fleas or
lice, this helps carry the fecal bacterial infection into the
bloodstream, and so the condition begins.

The Typhus bacterium festers in a person for about two weeks
before the deathly symptoms surface ~ a rash, extremely high
fever, intolerable joint pain, excruciating headaches and of course
excessive vomiting and diarrhea. Meanwhile, the fleas and lice
thrive and continue to infect other human hosts (and even their
pets). The problem perpetuates and becomes mainstream. Pretty
soon there's an epidemic. It's a dirty disease and Typhus thrives
in bad times.

Here's what you need to know about Typhus Fever:

#1: With bad times, Typhus will come.
So now you know that Typhus loves bad times and hangs around
to make things worse. The pestilence is sure to come when times
are bad and your immune system is low. With famine, war, or
societal collapse it will be a scourge on ordinary civilians, but you
can start now to combat it by stocking up on some key supplies,
like rat traps, flea traps, lice combs, immune boosting
supplements (infection protection supplements pictured right),
and maybe some fish antibiotics or a HEPA filter.

Cities in America today have an edge on Typhus only because we
have the means for proper sanitation, nutrition and medicine. The
day Typhus confronts you could be a ElectroMagnetic Pulse or
other devastating large-scale condition on society, but Typhus
would more likely flourish under an economic collapse.

Today politics are getting in the way of dealing with the problem
in the streets of Los Angeles and the inaction is spreading Typhus
to the general population. We aren't housing the homeless and
cleaning up after them. Instead we're allowing them to cluster in
unsanitary and unhealthy conditions. We're not cleaning up their
filth because their treasure is our trash and collectively we value
their individuals rights to keep the trash over the public's right to
manage the unsanitary conditions.

Typhus Fever in centuries past killed millions. Typhus killed
Napoleon's Greatest Army. Did you know, too, that it was Typhus
that killed Anne Frank? She died, frail and at a tender age, at the
Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. Typhus took her life just
weeks before British troops would have liberated her.

Today it's the police and their families who are most at risk for
Typhus right alongside the homeless in Los Angeles, along with
social workers, lawyers and office employees of City Hall there.
Tomorrow it could be you.

Poor sanitation and apocalyptic conditions starts the vicious cycle
of Typhus. It pops up in encampments ~ it could be a FEMA
camp, an internment camp or a homeless camp. Preppers beware!
Typhus thrives in bad times, but there are things you can do to
minimize exposure and risks...

#2: Want to survive Typhus? Do more laundry!
Laundry has a role in surviving Typhus. It does. In times of
economic hardship and war, sanitation is a luxury. Typhus thrives
when people share bedding, towels and live in filth. Mites and
body lice thrive in close personal settings that go unchecked,
unlaundered.

Sanitize bedding, clothing and towels. When homeless
share bedding, clothing and towels in overcrowded
situations, the lice population thrives and helps spread
Typhus fever. Don't share towels, and be sure to do your
laundry more often when the risks of typhus are high.

Treat bedding, clothing and towels with Permethrin. A
topical scabicidal agent, Permethrin, available in the brand
Nix, is the go to treatment of lice. It's a synthetic drug that's
effective treatment for getting rid of lice and scabies, but
some people will have hypersensitivity to the cream or gel.
That's why the CDC recommends using it only to treat
clothing and bedding with Permethrin.

Avoid unsanitary conditions where lice thrive. Doing your
laundry is one of the main things you can do to minimize lice
and mites, but the same isn't true of washing your hair,
because you can have clean hair and the lice don't care. They
know how to cling to hair, not bedsheets. Lice festers in
preschool and daycare. Washing clothing and bedding
frequently, especially in hot weather, is a tedious process,
but can go a long way towards reducing your lice exposure
especially if you have kids. Every prepper should own a few
lice combs! Learn more about how to combat lice.

Be lice aware. There are many kinds of Typhus fevers, but
your foremost concern as an American prepper is that lice is
spreading the disease in places like Los Angeles. The
Epidemic Typhus is a louse-borne disease caused by bacteria
called Ricksettsia prowazekii that's now spread person to
person through contact with infected body lice. Don't share
hats, combs, brushes, headphones or any head coverings.

Brother, can you spare a quarter? Economic turmoil will
prevent many from laundering. They'll go a little longer than
they should and perpetuate the problem in troubled times.

Bag and rotate as an option to laundering. If you don't
have a quarter or water for cleaning, you can seal clothing
into plastic bags and let them sit for more than a week.
Without food (you) they can't survive.

#3: Put a squeeze on the fleas, please!
If even the thought of fleas might make you itch, then learn to
put a squeeze on the fleas! Here's how to do just that..

Clear the air! Typhus typically spreads by a flea bite, but did
you know you can get sick just by breathing flea excrement?
Have you ever seen flea excrement? That's the point! The
contagion is virtually invisible which is why people in offices
outside of skid row are contracting Typhus. It would help to
set up a HEPA filter as a preventative measure. HEPA, which
stands for High Efficiency Particular Air, are special filters
that help remove dust mites, pet dander, pollen and even
smoke, chemicals and odors. They improve your indoor air
quality and can help reduce the threat of Typhus caused by
mites and flea excrement.

Get rid of the rodents. Since rodents offer a mode of
transportation to fleas, get rid of rodents to get rid of the
fleas. Ke ep mice and other rodents out of your stockpiles, by
keeping a tight lid on compost bins and trash cans, and by
sealing up holes in your home and garage where rodents
could enter. Less rodents = less fleas = less chance of
Typhus.

Watch out for flying squirrels! In the United States you'll find
them in California, Oregon Washington and Utah, as well as
the mountains of North Carolina, but also in Florida,
Minnesota and Texas. Flying squirrels carry Typhus, and
exposure to their nests is a factor. You should tell your
health provider about your contact with flying squirrels if you
suspect Typhus Fever, according to the Centers for Disease
Control. Flying squirrels live in forests and throughout
Canada and Alaska.

Protect your pets from fleas. You can protect pets with
shampoos, medication, and yard sprays. Flea-borne Typhus
fever is on the rise. Avoid dog parks, kennels and veterinary
facilities where dogs may bring the flea population home.

Keep a lid on the trash! Keep your backyard clear of trash
and composting, which attracts wild animals, and the fleas
that hitch a ride with them.

Use insect repellents. Insect repellents go a long way to
help you avoid fleas and ticks, but never use insect
repellents on babies under two months.

Make use of Essential oils. Lavender essential oil is a good
natural deterrent, and there are shampoos available for your
pets that include lavender essential oils. Other essential oils
to try are cedarwood, lemongrass, and peppermint.

#4: If you get bites, stop scratching!
An interesting thing for preppers to note about Typhus is that
scratching the bites will further open skin and then allow the
bacteria more access to your bloodstream, which then enables the
bacteria to fester and grow.

Resist the urge to scratch! Instead, soothe your bites with ice
packs or aloe vera. You can also try rubbing alcohol or essential
oils to dry the bites.

#5: There's no vaccine for Typhus, but there is a cure.
There's no vaccine for this plague-like disease that's aggravated
by trash, overcrowding and poor sanitation, but thankfully there is
something you can do: stop scratching!

While there is no vaccine for Typhus, thankfully there are
treatment options and many preppers stock fish antibiotics:

Doxycycline, which also happens to be a medicine to treat
Syphilis (a sexually transmitted bacterial infection) is the
most common and preferred treatment for Typhus. This
antibiotic is most effective when it's given immediately after
symptoms start to appear.

Chloramphenicol is an option for pregnant or women nursing.

Ciprofloxacin is the option for those not able to take
doxycycline.

#6: Typhus is extremely painful, deadly!
High fevers, excruciating headaches, and a malady of muscle
pain, victims of Typhus feel like they're going to die and some do!
The Survival Doctor says mortality rates rang e from 10-60% for
the epidemic version of Typhus; while endemic typhus is less
severe at between 1-4% and can be cured with antibiotic.

Epidemic Typhus: Epidemic Typhus is a louse-borne typhus
or Rickettsial disease that's prevalent in a certain
geographical area. Scrub typhus, for example, occurs in
Southeast Australia, Asia, and Japan. Currently there's an
epidemic in Los Angeles. Infections are transmitted when
someone scratches louse feces or rubs the matter into bites
or wounds, or into a body cavity, such as the eyes or nose.
Symptoms of epidemic typhus begin within 2 weeks after
contact with infected body lice. Epidemic typhus is rare in
the United States and usually associated with an exposure
to flying squirrels and their nests. There is no cure or
vaccine, but the CDC says Epidemic Typhus should be
treated with the antibiotic doxycycline.

Endemic Typhus: Endemic Typhus is a flea-borne typhus
called Ricksettsia Typhi. Sometimes called "jail fever," an
endemic typhus happens in unhygienic conditions and is not
spread from person to person. Think of conjunctivitis (pink
eye), which is one way it spreads. Endemic Typhus may
happen when flea feces that have the disease spread to a
skin opening, eye or even when the feces are transferred to
the lungs from dried or crushed feces. Preventing this kind of
Typhus requires lots of hand washing and sanitizing.

Typhus causes a lot of abdominal pain, but has a host of other
symptoms. Fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting a cough
and body and muscle aches are some of the telltale signs, but
Typhus fever also has a rash, rapid breathing and confusion to
help distinguish it from other types of illnesses. It's a tricky
disease. Diagnosis requires a blood test to confirm the illness,
but unfortunately the blood test can take weeks to get the blood
test results!

Complications of Typhus may include pneumonia, meningitis,
septic shock, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and Hepatitis.

#7: Think of Typhus as an Umbrella Disease.
Typhus fever isn't just one condition ~ it's a cluster of closely
related diseases. You now know that the illness comes from a
bacterial infection that's transmitted by body lice, chiggers, fleas,
head lice, mites and ticks, but what you might not know is that
these critters carry different kinds of bacteria that cause Typhus.
The bacteria causing a ruckus in Los Angeles is "Ricksettsia
Prowazekii" and it's transmitted on the feces of body lice.

Here's an example of the many kinds of Typhus:

Rickettsia prowazekii is spread by body lice (the epidemic
typhus in Los Angeles).

Orientia tsutsugamushi is spread by chiggers (scrub typhus),
mostly found in Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, and
Japan.

Rickettsia typhi is spread by fleas (murine typhus) and is
mostly found in California, Hawaii and Texas.

#8: Typhus is NOT the same as Typhoid.
Another important notation is that Typhus is not the same as
typhoid fever. Although the names are similar and both diseases
involve the spread of bacteria, they are quite different:

With Typhoid, the disease is spread through food that's
come into contact with fecal bacteria. It spreads human to
human very quickly especially with food handling. Think
Typhoid Mary! With Typhoid the aim is to keep hands clean
to help stop the spread through contaminated food and
water.

With Typhus, the disease comes from tiny critters like mites,
lice and fleas, which catch the disease from rodents like rats
and squirrels and even possums. Avoiding Typhus has more
to do with avoiding body lice, fleas, mites, ticks and the
rodents that bring them.

#9: Overcrowded living increases risks.
One of the best ways to prevent Typhus Fever is to avoid
overcrowded areas, and especially avoid living in overcrowded
conditions, like FEMA. Typhus risk increases with homelessness or
forced encampments. The homeless and others who are
temporarily displaced are most at risk because they aren't able to
bathe or change clothes regularly.

Homeless people have rights. Their treasure is our trash and so
the politics of protecting their rights allows the squalor to
continue. When the city is immobilized to clean up the filth the
disease spreads. Typhus thrives in overcrowded conditions and
environments without cleanliness. Homelessness is a breeding
ground for the disease. It spreads through their contaminated
food and water or through close contact with someone who's
already infected in their encampments. This puts police officers at
risk because they deal with the homeless and then in turn spread
it to their families and the general population.

Overcrowded conditions are the breeding ground for Typhus:

Garbage mounts and attracts rats.
The rats harbor fleas.
Fleas spread the typhus bacteria when they bite humans.

How to Mitigate Typhus Fevers
The Typhus pathogen originally transmitted from rat fleas to
human beings, who then transmitted it to other humans. Some
strains transmit from human to human.

There's not much you can do to get rid of homeless squalor other
than demanding local officials take care of the problem. Removing
the garbage and overcrowded conditions of the homeless
population will go a long way toward eradicating the disease, but
it requires a careful government management so as not to
continue the spread to the population.

What can you do if you live in Los Angeles:

Steer clear of homeless encampments and City Hall.
Currently police officers are at highest risk for interacting
with the homeless community, but lawyers are getting the
disease too. Avoid public buildings in typhoid regions and
especially those that haven't been fumigated for fleas.

Increase your laundry cycle and be lice aware. Don't be in
denial about an itch. Do what you can to eradicate the tiny
pests.

Boost your immune system. Avoiding sugars is one way to
stay strong and another is to eat a healthy and varied diet.
You can also boost your immune system by hydrating
properly, taking supplements and using essential oils. Check
out these super immunity boosters.

classic mousetrap

HEPA Round Air Purifier

air purifier with HEPA filter

The Ultimate Flea Trap

Nix Kills lice and eggs

How to get rid of head lice (Parents guide)

Mountain House Diced Chicken