In the jane eyre novel does the school have a break out of typhus or t.b or is it the same thing?

Question

In the jane eyre novel does the school have a break out of typhus or t.b or is it the same thing?

Answer 1

Typhus, which is a disease spread by lice and generally occurs in conditions where people are very crowded and hygiene is not a priority. The typhus outbreak at Lowood School serves to illustrate the truly terrible condition in which the girls are living.

It is not the same thing as TB, which is a respiratory (lung) disease spread through coughing and sneezing, like a cold.

Answer 2

They have TB, which is what killed most Brontes. The sick quiet girl is meant to be based on Emily Bronte.

Answer 3

I don't know what the school has a break out of, but I know that typhus and tuberculosis aren't the same thing.  

Answer 4

It was Typhus. From the Brackish water and poor condions the girls lived in. Helen, Jane's friend died of Consumption which is T B.

Answer 5

Tb is short for tuberculosis, also called consumption. Symptoms are night sweats and coughing blood.

typhus is something you catch from bad water

Answer 6

I don't recall, but they are definitely not the same thing.  Also, an "outbreak" of tb would be an unlikely description.  Tb actually is airborne, but they didn't believe that at the time the book was written.  It was though to be caused by "bad air" (smog, at that time mostly from coal).