What is the difference between typhoid and a long viral fever?

Typhoid classically produces a fever that climbs in a stepladder pattern over several days rather than spiking and settling, often with a relatively slow pulse for the height of the fever, abdominal discomfort, and constipation as often as diarrhoea. A viral fever usually peaks earlier and starts improving within four to five days. The practical marker is duration: fever persisting beyond five to seven days deserves testing rather than another course of paracetamol. Blood culture is the reliable test — the Widal test alone is widely over-relied upon and frequently misleading.