Typhoid Fever

Typhoid Fever General Information

If you travel a lot, especially to undeveloped countries that present various endemic areas, you should be very well informed about the risks you are exposed to. We will offer you some of the most important information concerning Typhoid Fever, but if you still have questions, we advise you to contact a trained specialist or your health care provider. Enteric fever or more commonly known as Typhoid Fever is a severe infectious disease caused by the bacteria salmonella typhi and characterized by headache, rash, fever, pain felt in the abdominal area, diarrhea or constipation and systemic diseases. Although it is a rare medical condition in the industrialized countries, it remains a dangerous threat for the developing world. It spreads very quickly through close contact with other infected persons and through contaminated water and food. If it is discovered in time and treated properly (usually with antibiotics), the patients will feel much better after five to ten days of intense therapy.

In countries where the risk of getting Typhoid Fever is significantly increased, vaccines are available in every hospital, although doctors say that it may not always be effective. These vaccines are reserved for people who travel a lot in high risk countries and are exposed to this medical condition. Although severe, only a small percentage of the patients die because of complications. From the intestines, the bacteria spread rapidly to the bloodstream, intestinal lymph nodes, spleen, or liver where they multiply. In countries as USA, this disease is usually brought from abroad.

Typhoid Fever Symptoms

It is very important for every person to know as much as possible about his/her medical condition and that includes a list of signs and symptoms, as the one we offer you in this chapter. As we all know, we have an immune system that reacts in a different way when it is attacked by various harmful agents and on its resistance depends our health status. The list of signs and symptoms may not be complete, but it contains the main manifestations that are usually experienced by the majority of patients. If you complain of other signs, we strongly advise you to call your health care provider.

The symptoms of Typhoid Fever appear one week to one month after the exposure to the bacterium and usually develop gradually. The exception is represented by young children that get sick suddenly. If the immune system is strong, the patient may not become sick for as long as sixty days after exposure. As in many other cases the severity of symptoms depends on the stage of the disease. The first stage of the Typhoid Fever is characterized by mild symptoms, such as: sore throat, high fever (over 40oC), temporary rash, pain felt in the abdominal area, weakness, constipation, fatigue, headache or diarrhea. Usually, children develop diarrhea, while adults are more likely to be constipated. If the patient does not receive treatment and Typhoid Fever develops to the second stage, he/she may accuse: persistent high fever, distended abdomen, severe constipation, important weight loss and diarrhea.

Typhoid Fever Treatment

If you suspect you have Typhoid Fever you should seek immediate medical attendance. If you get ill during travel, search for a well equipped hospital and then talk to a specialist. If you develop signs and symptoms after you come back home from a high risk country, contact your health care provider as soon as possible or another doctor who is specialized in infectious diseases or international travel medicine. During the medical examination you will be asked about your signs and symptoms and about the medical and travel history. Because your doctor can not set a diagnosis only on what you experience and the medical and travel history, you will be asked to do some blood or other body fluid culture. For the lab tests, the health care provider will need small samples of your urine, stool, blood or bone marrow for special tests. Because the bacterium causing Typhoid fever spreads throughout your body, all these tests are absolutely necessary. Antigen or antibody testing is also useful and include: ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test that looks for an antigen released especially for salmonella typhi; and fluorescent antibody test that searches for antibodies specific for this type of infectious disease. If the results of all these tests are positive and indicate the presence of the bacterium causing this medical condition, you must receive immediately the appropriate treatment option.

The most common therapy is the one based on antibiotics. All around the world only several drugs have proved their efficiency against Typhoid Fever: Ciprofloxacin (especially for non-pregnant women and men) and injections with Rocephin (Ceftriaxone) for children and pregnant women. The negative aspect about these drugs is that they cause several dangerous side effects and if they are used for a longer period of time, the bacterium can develop resistance. In the past doctors preferred Chloramphenicol, but nowadays is no longer in used because it causes severe side effects, fast bacterial resistance and high relapse rates. Researchers discovered that Typhoid Fever is also resistant to Ampicillin and Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. All the medications must be taken as the doctor said or as it writes on the prescription. Avoid overdosing and missing doses because your quality of life may be damaged.

Another way to help patients suffering from this type of medical condition is to offer them supportive therapy. This consists in eating a healthy diet (rich in calories so that your organism can replace more easily the nutrients lost) and drinking liquids (especially water and tea because they prevent dehydration that can be caused by severe diarrhea or prolonged high fever). If some patients are severely dehydrated, they might need intravenous (IV) fluids. Electrolytes can also be administrated into the vein. With the help of an adequate treatment option, Typhoid fever resolves in 15 days to one month. This prognosis is good only when the disease is discovered in time; otherwise, severe complications interfere in the process of curing. Some possible complications include: kidney failure, gastrointestinal bleeding (internal bleeding), peritonitis and intestinal perforation.