TYPHOID FEVER

Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection due to salmonella typhi that causes symptoms
which may vary from mild to severe, this bacterium salmonella typhi, growing in
the intestines and blood. It usually begin six to thirty days after exposure. Without
treatment symptoms may last week or months other people may carry the
bacterium without being affected however, they are still able to spread the diseases
to others.
HOW THE BACTERIA IS SPREAD
1. Through oral transmission: by eating or drinking water contaminated with
the feces of an infected person
2. Through hand to mouth transmission: After using a contaminated toilet and
neglecting hand hygiene
3. Through poor sanitation.
SYMPTOM OF A TYPHOID INFECTED PATIENT
High fever over several days
Weakness
Abdominal pain
Constipation
Headaches
Diarrhea
Vomiting is usually severe
Some develop skin rash with rose colored spots
Severe cases there may be confusion
Symptoms are similar to that of many other infectious diseases. Therefore
self- medication should be avoided.
DIAGNOSIS OF TYPHOID
I. Culturing the bacteria or detecting of bacteriums DNS in the blood,
stool or bone marrow
II. Bone marrow testing which is the most accurate.
COMPLICATIONS OF TYHPOID
Complications caused by typhoid fever usually only occur in people who have not
be treated with appropriate antibiotics or who havent be treated straight away,
about one in ten people experience complications which usually develop during the
third week of infection.
Common complication in typhoid untreated typhoid fever are:
I. Internal bleeding in the digestive system
II. Splitting perforation of a section of the digestive system or bowel which
spreads the infection to the nearby tissues.
Internal bleeding that occurs are not life threatening but will make you feel
tired all the time, breathlessness, pale skin, irregular heartbeat, vomiting
blood, passing stools that are very dark or tar-like.
Perforation is a potentially very serious complication the bacteria in that
lives in the digestive system can more to the stomach and infect the lining of
the abdomen (the peritoneum) peritonitis; medical emergency the
peritoneum does not have an inbuilt defense mechanism for fighting
infection. The infection can rapidly spread in the blood (sepsis) before
spreading to other organs which causes the risk of multiple organ failure.
If it is not treated properly .It may result in death .The most common
symptom of peritonitis is sudden abdominal pain that gets progressively
worse. Lesser complication of typhoid fever myocarditis (inflammation of
hearth muscle) shortness of breath, chest pain, irregular heartbeats, and
pneumonia (shortness of breath, cough and lung pain, inflammation of the
pancreas) .Survivors may be left with long term or permanent
neuropsychiatric complication.
TREATMENT
I. Admission; treatment with antibiotic injections
II. Surgery to seal hole in the intestinal wall.
PREVENTION
Typhoid vaccine can prevent about 30% to 70% cases some effect for up to
7years recommendation for those at high risk or people travelling to areas
where the diseases is common.
Provision of clean drinking water
Better sanitation
Do not prepare food for others if infected.
Proper hand washing hygiene
Treatment of diseases is with antibiotics such as azithromycin,
fluoroquinolones, cephalosporuns.
School age children and young adults------At risk
Children and infants------ At higher risk
Death-----Within one month of onset
STATISTICS
12.5million new cases worldwide in 2015
Children are most commonly infected
149,000 death worldwide
33million of typhoid case occurs yearly.