Typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella typhi bacteria. Typhoid fever is rare in industrialized countries. However, it remains a serious health threat in the developing world, especially for children.
Typhoid fever spreads through contaminated food and water or through close contact with someone who's infected.
Signs and symptoms are likely to develop gradually — often appearing one to three weeks after exposure to the disease.
Early illness
Once signs and symptoms do appear, you're likely to experience:
• Fever that starts low and increases daily, possibly reaching as high as 104.9 F (40.5 C)
• Headache
• Weakness and fatigue
• Muscle aches
• Sweating
• Dry cough
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Rash
• Extremely swollen abdomen
Later illness
If you don't receive treatment, you may:
• Become delirious
• Lie motionless and exhausted with your eyes half-closed in what's known as the typhoid state
In addition, life-threatening complications often develop at this time.
In some people, signs and symptoms may return up to two weeks after the fever has subsided.
Include:
• Medical and travel history
Doctor is likely to suspect typhoid fever based on your symptoms and your medical and travel history.
• Body fluid or tissue culture
For the culture, a small sample of your blood, stool, urine or bone marrow is placed on a special medium that encourages the growth of bacteria. The culture is checked under a microscope for the presence of typhoid bacteria.
Include:
• Antibiotic therapy is the only effective treatment for typhoid fever.
Other treatments include:
• Drinking fluids. This helps prevent the dehydration that results from a prolonged fever and diarrhea. If you're severely dehydrated, you may need to receive fluids through a vein (intravenously).
• Surgery. If your intestines become perforated, you'll need surgery to repair the hole.
Consult at Aadil Hospital for medical and surgical treatment.
