Typhoid Fever About 400 Cases

Typhoid Fever

About 400 cases of typhoid fever occur in the United States each year. Seventy-five percent of these cases are acquired while Americans are traveling internationally. It is a disease that is still quite common in underdeveloped nations where approximately 21 million people a year are affected. Countries such as those in Asia, Africa, and Latin American are particularly risky. If hand washing is less frequent or water is contaminated by sewage, those factors also affect the frequency of the infection. It is a life-threatening disease, but can be prevented and may be treated with antibiotics (National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases).

Persons who have typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract. Some individuals can become carriers. That is, they recover completely from their own typhoid fever, but continue to carry the bacteria. In rare cases, carriers never had the active disease.

A little known historical fact is that it is believed it was typhoid fever that shifted the balance of power from Athens to Sparta and ended the Golden Age of Pericles that had held Athens as the predominant world power in the 400s B.C. This "plague" killed approximately one-third of the population of Athens, including its leader, Pericles.

Typhoid Mary Mallon, the most infamous carrier of the disease, a domestic cook in New York during the early 1900s, is thought to have spread the disease to several hundred people. She refused to cooperate with authorities because she had never had an active case of the disease. Though she volunteered to become a laundress instead of a cook, she later returned to domestic cooking under an assumed name, was detained after another typhoid outbreak, and spent the last 23 years of her life under quarantine (CBWInfo.com).

Causes

Typhoid is caused by Salmonella typhi -- one of the family of bacteria that cause salmonella food poisoning. It can affect many areas of the human body and can definitely become fatal if not recognized and treated. Usually, poor hygiene and lack of immunization are the main causes in developing nations, where typhoid remains, to this day, a serious threat. It is a communicable disease (Encyclopedia of Health, p. 1052).

The salmonella organism is communicated and spread through food and water that have been contaminated by the feces of an infected person. It is sometimes difficult to trace back to the carrier because there is usually an incubation period of about two weeks. Many people have the bacteria in their bodies with no visible symptoms. However they can still communicate the disease to others, especially if they handle food. This is the cause of most of the outbreaks in those countries where handwashing and general good hygiene are not practiced (Encyclopedia of Health, p. 1052).

Once the bacteria is ingested through infected food or water, it invades the small intestine and invades the bloodstream. The bacteria find their way to the bone marrow, liver and spleen where they multiply and then go back into the bloodstream. When they enter the gallbladder and lymphatic tissue they multiply in enormous numbers. It is when they re-enter the intestinal tract that the disease can be diagnosed from stool samples.

Symptoms

The first symptoms are usually headache, muscle pain and a fairly high fever. The problem is that these symptoms only occur about ten days after infection. It isn't until four to five days later that a rash occurs. The rash takes on the appearance of small, flat, red spots. A week after that those spots darken and look like bruises. If the disease has progressed this far, the patient begins to have short periods of unconsciousness, then the kidneys fail, a cough begins, and the rash turns to gangrene in the extremities. If no treatment has been given at this point, up to 50 per cent of patients die. It is possible to survive without treatment, with luck, but the brain has to learn to function properly again, and recovery is very slow with full health not returning for a long time (Encyclopedia of Health, p. 1053).

Decline in appetite, generalized aches and pains, and diarrhea can also be relatively early symptoms. The disease, after its incubation period of two weeks may last about four to six weeks.

Treatments or Cures

First of all, typhoid fever can be eliminated as a primary threat to an individual's health by avoiding risky foods and drinks, and getting a typhoid fever vaccination. When an individual travels, being careful about food and drink is just as important as a vaccination. The reason this is true is that vaccines are not necessarily totally effective. Avoiding the risky foods also protects the traveler from other serious illnesses such as cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis a