What is the Difference Between Typhoid and Tuberculosis

The key difference between typhoid and tuberculosis is that typhoid is a bacterial infection caused by Salmonella typhi, while tuberculosis is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Typhoid and tuberculosis are two different types of bacterial infections in humans. Bacterial infections occur when bacteria enter the human body, multiply and cause a reaction in the body. Bacteria can enter the human body in numerous ways, such as through a cut or surgical wound in the skin or an airway. The symptoms of bacterial infections include difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, unexplained redness or swelling in the skin, persistent fever, frequent vomiting, blood in urine, vomit or stools, severe stomach pain, headaches, and cuts and burns that are red or have pus.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Typhoid 
3. What is Tuberculosis
4. Similarities – Typhoid and Tuberculosis
5. Typhoid vs  Tuberculosis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Typhoid vs  Tuberculosis

What is Typhoid?

Typhoid is an infection in humans caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. Typhoid fever is rare in developed countries. However, it is still a threat in developing countries. Typhoid fever is caused by contaminated food and water or close contact with an infected person. The signs and symptoms of typhoid fever include fever that starts low and increases daily, headache, weakness and fatigue, muscle aches, sweating, dry cough, loss of appetite, and weight loss, stomach pain, diarrhoea or constipation, rash, extremely swollen stomach, becoming delirious, and lying motionless or exhausted with the eyes half closed (typhoid state). The complications involved in typhoid fever include intestinal bleeding and holes, sepsis, myocarditis, endocarditis, mycotic aneurysm, pneumonia, pancreatitis, kidney and bladder infection, meningitis, and psychiatric problems.

Typhoid can be diagnosed through medical and travel history and body fluid or tissue culture. Furthermore, typhoid is treated through antibiotic therapy (ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, or ceftriaxone), drinking fluids, and surgery.

What is Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It usually attacks the lungs but can spread to other parts of the body, such as the brain and spine. There are two types of tuberculosis; they are latent and active tuberculosis. Latent TB does not cause symptoms. But the infection is still alive and can one day become active. On the other hand, active TB cause symptoms and make people sick. The symptoms of tuberculosis may include a persistent cough, chest pain, feeling tired, night sweats, chills, fever, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spread through the air, like cold or flu. Moreover, complications involved in tuberculosis include spinal pain, joint pain, meningitis, liver and kidney problems, and heart disorders.

Tuberculosis can be diagnosed through skin tests, blood tests, X-rays, CT scans, and acid-fast bacillus tests (AFB). Furthermore, treatments for latent tuberculosis include antibiotics such as isoniazid, rifapentine, and rifampin, either alone or combined. Active TB is treated with antibiotics such as ethambutol, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and rifampin.

What are the Similarities Between Typhoid and Tuberculosis?

• Typhoid and tuberculosis are two different types of bacterial infections in humans.
• Both infections are a huge burden for developing countries.
• They cause complications.
• They are treated through antibiotics.

What is the Difference Between Typhoid and Tuberculosis?

Salmonella typhi is the causative bacterium of typhoid disease, while Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative bacterium of tuberculosis. Thus, this is the key difference between typhoid and tuberculosis. Furthermore, the complications of typhoid may include intestinal bleeding and holes, sepsis, myocarditis, endocarditis, mycotic aneurysm, pneumonia, pancreatitis, kidney and bladder infection, meningitis, and psychiatric problems. On the other hand, the complications of tuberculosis may include spinal pain, joint pain, meningitis, liver and kidney problems, and heart disorders.

The below infographic presents the differences between typhoid and tuberculosis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Typhoid vs Tuberculosis

Infectious bacteria enter the human body, multiply, and cause reactions in the body, causing diseases. These bacterial infections can cause severe complications in the human body. Typhoid and tuberculosis are two different types of bacterial infections. Typhoid is caused by Salmonella typhi, while tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Both diseases can be treated by antibiotics. So, this summarizes the difference between typhoid and tuberculosis.

Reference:

1. “Tuberculosis (TB): Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and Prevention.” WebMD.
2. “Typhoid fever.” NHS Choices, NHS.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Depiction of a tuberculosis patient” By Myupchar (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Microscopic Typhoid Fever” By Kat M. Research – (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia