HEALTH MY LIVES

TYPHOID- Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, And Prevention

By Dr. Ganga Sapkota · · Updated

Typhoid Causes
Contents

Overview

Typhoid is an acute, whole-body infection marked by a long-lasting fever. It is a serious, life-threatening disease caused by bacteria that spread through food and water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. It is also commonly known as enteric fever.

The bacteria invade the intestine and then the bloodstream.

Occurrence

Typhoid is found in many parts of the world, and it is common where sanitation and drinking water are poor, especially in South Asia. The CDC estimates about 9.2 million typhoid cases worldwide each year. Most U.S. cases are linked to international travel.

Causative Organism

Salmonella Typhi

The causative agent of typhoid is a bacterium, Salmonella Typhi. It is a rod-shaped, motile, gram-negative bacillus. A related germ, Salmonella Paratyphi, causes the similar paratyphoid fever.

What are the sources of infection of typhoid?

Salmonella typhi lives only in humans. Both patients and carriers serve as the reservoir. The source of infection is the feces (and sometimes urine) of infected persons, which can contaminate food, water, or hands.

About 1 to 4% of treated patients become chronic carriers who shed the bacteria for a year or more, often without feeling sick.

Incubation Period

The incubation period is variable, from about 6 to 30 days.

What are the symptoms of Typhoid?

Typhoid symptoms

This is a severe disease, and it can affect different organs of the human body, so symptoms vary from patient to patient. According to the CDC Yellow Book, common symptoms include:-

  • A fever that rises step by step over several days, reaching 102 to 104°F (39 to 40°C), and can last for weeks without treatment.
  • Headache, weakness, loss of appetite, and stomach pain. The bacteria can spread through the bloodstream to the bone marrow, liver, spleen, and gallbladder.
  • An enlarged liver and spleen, and abdominal tenderness.
  • The intestine will show lession, haemorrhage and ulceration. (Especially of Peyer’s patches.)
  • Constipation or diarrhoea. Diarrhoea and vomiting are more common in children.
  • The appearance of rose spots may be seen on the trunk in some of the cases.
  • Serious complications, such as intestinal bleeding or a hole in the intestine, usually develop after 2 to 3 weeks of illness in 10 to 15% of hospitalized patients. Without treatment, more than 10% of patients may die; with prompt treatment, deaths are under 1%.

What are the possible preventions of typhoid?

The preventions of typhoid are as given below:-

  • Disposal of sewage in a proper way.
  • Maintain personnel cleanliness strongly.
  • Public water supply needs to be protected, purified and chlorinated.
  • Fly and insects need to be controlled by spraying some types of insecticides.
  • Protecting food(such as a meal) and liquid(such as water and milk) from contamination is the mandatory step to prevent typhoid.
  • Wash raw fruits and vegetables in safe water, or peel them yourself. When traveling, follow the rule: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it.
  • Most of the people don’t have any idea about all the points mentioned above. So, we need to do a public awareness of people.
  • Immunization with typhoid vaccine. In the U.S., the injectable Vi vaccine (age 2 and up) needs a booster every 2 years, and the oral Ty21a capsules (age 6 and up) every 5 years. The vaccines are about 50 to 80% effective, so food and water precautions still matter. The old TAB vaccine is no longer used.

Treatments

Typhoid is treated with antibiotics, which a doctor chooses based on where the infection was picked up and lab tests. Many strains are now resistant to older drugs such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, and many are also resistant to ciprofloxacin.

Azithromycin, ceftriaxone, or carbapenems are often used today. Take the full course as prescribed, and see a doctor again if the fever comes back.

Sources