Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi.
Typhoid is not uncommon, in the United States, it is estimated that approximately 5,700 cases occur annually.
Typhoid fever is still common in the developing world, where it affects about 21.5 million persons each year.
Typhoid fever can be prevented and can usually be treated with antibiotics.
How is typhoid fever spread?
Typhoid fever is contracted by drinking or eating the bacteria in contaminated food or water.
People with acute illness can contaminate the surrounding water supply through faeces, which contains a high concentration of the bacteria.
Contamination of the water supply can, in turn, taint the food supply. The bacteria can survive for weeks in water or dried sewage.
About three to five percent of people become carriers of the bacteria after the acute illness.
Others suffer a very mild illness that goes unrecognised. These people may become long-term carriers of the bacteria, even though they have no symptoms, and be the source of new outbreaks of typhoid fever for many years.
“Boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it”
If you drink water, buy it bottled or bring it to a rolling boil for 1 minute before you drink it.
Ask for drinks without ice unless the ice is made from bottled or boiled water. Avoid popsicles and flavoured ices that may have been made with contaminated water.
Eat foods that have been thoroughly cooked and that are still hot and steaming.
Avoid raw vegetables and fruits that cannot be peeled. Vegetables like lettuce are easily contaminated and are very hard to wash well.
When you eat raw fruit or vegetables that can be peeled, peel them yourself. (Wash your hands with soap first.) Do not eat the peelings.
Avoid foods and beverages from street vendors. It is difficult for food to be kept clean on the street.
Persons with typhoid fever usually have a sustained fever as high as 39° to 40°C.
They may also feel weak, or have stomach pains, headache, or loss of appetite. In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots.
The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever is to have samples of stool or blood tested for the presence of Salmonella Typhi.
If you are being treated for typhoid fever, it is important to do the following:
Keep taking the prescribed antibiotics for as long as the doctor has asked you to take them.
Wash your hands carefully with soap and water after using the bathroom, and do not prepare or serve food for other people. This will lower the chance that you will pass the infection on to someone else.
Information obtained from:
