4. What is Typhoid Fever?
Acute infectious disease affects 17 million people
worldwide every year, with approximately 600,000 deaths
Serotype of the bacterium Salmonella typhi
Enters the body through the mouth
Contaminated food or water
Penetrates intestinal wall
Enters bloodstream in 24-72 hrs.
Causes septicemia and systemic infection
6. Symptoms
10-14 day incubation period
Headache
Malaise
Generalized aching
Fever (103-104 ̊F)
Loss of appetite
Nosebleeds
Cough
Diarrhea
Small rose-colored spots appear on the trunk
Extremes emaciation and mental disturbance
7. Complications
25% are fatal cases
Heart failure
Pneumonia
Osteomyelitis
Encephalitis
Meningitis
Mental confusion and delirium
8. Diagnosis and Treatment
Diagnosed via blood culture, stool
culture and serological testing.
Treated with antibiotics, specifically
chloramphenicol
10. Warnings
Typhoid bacteria can persist in the bile
passages of patients for an indefinite period
of time.
The risk is in travelers who leave industrialized
zones for third world countries and return.
(400 cases/year in the U.S.)
11. Resources
typhoid fever (typhoid). (2006). In Dictionary of Microbiology &
Molecular Biology. Retrieved from
http://databases.mail.wvncc.edu:2055/entry/wileymicrob/typhoid_fever
_typhoid
typhoid fever. (2012). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from
http://databases.mail.wvncc.edu:2067/EBchecked/topic/611776/typhoid-
fever
Papagrigorakis MJ, Yapijakis C, Synodinos PN, Baziotopoulou-Valavani E
(2006). "DNA examination of ancient dental pulp incriminates typhoid
fever as a probable cause of the Plague of Athens". Int J Infect Dis 10 (3):
206–214.
typhoid. (2009). In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
http://databases.mail.wvncc.edu:2055/entry/ebconcise/typhoid