What is Typhoid fever?
Typhoid fever is also called an enteric fever. It is an infection caused by a bacterium called Salmonella typhi and can be life-threatening if not treated.
It can cause both typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, Salmonella paratyphi are also involved in causing infection within the body. Typhoid germs can rapidly spread throughout the body and cause fatal complication if the infection is not treated promptly.
Salmonella are the bacteria that thrive in human intestines and once gained entry in body through consumption of contaminated water or food they tend to spread rapidly and cause severe infection. Salmonella is a germ that causes Salmonellosis or food poisoning.
Typhoid fever can be seen in underdeveloped or developing countries due to the lack of sanitation and use of impure water. It is rarely seen in developed nations.
Typhoid vaccines are given to prevent the infection. These vaccines may help to avoid possible contraction of infection when travelling to exposed areas or living in an endemic areas of typhoid.
What are the causes and risk factors for typhoid fever?
The causative agent for typhoid fever is Salmonella typhi(S. typhi). People can carry these bacteria for months or years without any apparent symptoms. They are called carriers of infection. They spread bacteria of typhoid to healthy people and infect them unknowingly when they touch them or make food for them with their unclean hands.
What are the risk for typhoid fever?
Typhoid can occur to anyone if he ingests the food or drinks the water that is contaminated with bacteria. But there are certain risk factors that contribute to the typhoid fever.
- It is common in rural areas.
- Places with low sanitation or more unclean conditions
- Crowded places
- Developing or underdeveloped nations
- People who are not vaccinated for typhoid in childhood
- Travellers who travel from one nation to other without prior prophylaxis
What is the mode of transmission of typhoid fever?
Typhoid spreads via fecal-oral route. It can spread through direct or close contact with infected person. Direct contact with the stools of infected person. Contaminated food, drinks and water are the common causes of getting the typhoid infection.
Humans are the only known carriers of the typhoid fever. No animal is reported to spread the bacteria to humans. When the poop or stools of an infected person enters the food or water or drinks, they get contaminated with the bacteria which when consumed can cause typhoid.
What are the signs and symptoms of typhoid fever?
The signs and symptoms of typhoid fever are:
- Fever, high grade(initially low but increases rapidly daily)
- headache
- Development of tiny red/rose-colored spots on the chest and belly(skin rash)
- Nausea
- Mild vomiting episodes
- Diarrhea/loose stools
- Loss of appetite(anorexia)
- Constipation/hard stools
- Abdominal pain and cramps
- Abdominal discomfort
- Muscle weakness
- Fatigue and lethargy
How is typhoid fever diagnosed?
What is the treatment of typhoid?
- Typhoid symptoms and blood investigations help in confirming the diagnosis. A person with typhoid fever must be admitted into the hospital and prompt medical treatment must be initiated to avoid the possible complications.
- Treatment aims at: Controlling the body temperature. Monitoring the temperature periodically. Managing the loose stools by giving antibiotics and antidiarrheals. Intravenous administration of the fluids to prevent dehydration. If the symptoms are manageable or not severe, your doctor may give you oral medications and oral fluid supplements to treat typhoid.
- Antibiotic treatment helps in getting rid of the bacteria but the infection can recur even after you recover. If you feel any symptoms few months following recovering, you should get yourself tested for S. typhi in your blood. A person may carry the bacteria of typhoid for a long time without showing symptoms. This is called a carrier stage and such people can spread the germs or bacteria to healthy people by shaking their dirty hands or touching their unwashed hands (after using the bathroom/toilet) to food or different objects. A person may continue to transmit the bacteria for months or year.
- Some people do not respond to antibiotic as the organism develops resistance to that particular antibiotic medication. Your doctor may plan a different antibiotic to treat the infection.
- Rest and bland diet play an important role in quick recovery. Ensuring good intake of fluids and clear liquids help in hydrating the body and relieves constipation. Your loose stools may be controlled by medications.
How long a person can take to recover from typhoid fever?
It depends upon the person's body and the response to the antibiotics. Many patients need a change or shift to newer and broad spectrum antibiotics as their bodies have stopped responding to the conventional antibiotics.
If the treatment for typhoid was initated early it would help you recover within a week or two. The late the diagnosis the longer the hospital stay. It depends how severe were the symptoms of infection when you had diagnosed as having typhoid fever. You may need a longer stay to reach to a no-bacteria in your culture tests period.
Can we prevent typhoid?
Typhoid is a preventable disease. It can be prevented by prophylaxis vaccines and certain precautions.
- Sanitation. Maintain cleanliness.
- Personal hygiene
- Hand washing: Always wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before eating meals and after using the washroom
- Avoid touching any known person having infection
- Wash all the food items before cooking
- Avoid eating raw or uncooked foods
- .Boil the drinking water before consuming. Filter it and then consume.
- Get yourself tested for typhoid if you live in crowded places where typhoid cases are reported often . If you see any symptoms of typhoid or have had a recent past infection history it is better to get tested for any existing infection in the body. This helps in preventing the spread of bacteria to other people around you.
- Get yourself prophylactic vaccines for typhoid when you are planning to travel to some developing nations where typhoid is reported more often.
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