Typhoid fever: Salmonella Typhi

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Salmonella Typhi

What Is Typhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection disease that spreads throughout the body and affects many organs of the body. Severe illness may occur if instance treatment will not given to the patient. Typhoid fever is enteric fever and is rare in developed countries. It is an acute illness caused by Salmonella Typhi bacteria. Paratyphoid is a similar disease to Typhoid and is caused by the bacteria Paratyphoid.

Salmonella is motile Enterobacteriaceae and produces a variety of gastrointestinal infections. The most serious disease of this category is Typhoid fever which is produced by Salmonella Enterica serotype Typhi.

What Is The Causes Of Typhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is caused by the perilous bacteria salmonella Typhi. It is related to the bacteria that cause Salmonella food poisoning.

Faecal-Oral transmission route

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Typhoid fever can transmit through faecal.  People who are living in the developed country can receive disease while they are travelling. Thus salmonella Typhi resides in the faecal and urine of infected person. When someone is having food which is prepared by the infected person with typhoid can transmit the disease if he has not washed his hands after using the toilet. Some people also can be contaminated by drinking contaminated water.

Typhoid Carrier

After antibiotic treatment, a small number of people recovering from typhoid fever continue to harbour the bacteria. These people, the so-called chronic carriers, no longer have any sign of the disease itself. However, they still shed bacteria in the stool and can infect others.

What Are The Risk Factors

Typhoid fever is a serious worldwide disease. It affects about 27 million people every year, especially in India, Southeast Asia, Africa, South America and many other countries. Children receive more risk than elders, however, they have mild symptoms compared to elders.

• When a person is residing in a developing country can get at risk of contaminated water and food.
• If a person who lives in a developed country can get contaminated while travelling.
• If a person who is working as a clinical microbiologist for handling Salmonella typhi bacteria can be infected.
• Potable water polluted by sewage contains Salmonella Typhi.

How The Bacteria Affect the human body

After having food and drinking water that are contaminated with Salmonella enter the digestive tract of humans their bacteria multiply quickly. It causes stomach pain and constipation and diarrhoea. These bacteria can get into the bloodstream and spread to other areas of the body via the blood. If any body organ will damage then it can create serious complications of the disease.

Signs Of Typhoid Fever

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In Typhoid Fever early symptoms include fever, general ill-feeling and abdominal pain. As the disease gets worse serious diarrhoea can occur. Some people develop rashes called “red spots” which are small red spots on the abdomen and chest.

Other symptoms are:

• Bloody Stools
• Chills
• Agitation, Confusion, Seeing or Hearing
• Difficulty in paying attention
• Nosebleeding
• Fatigue
• Slow sluggish, Weak feeling

Serious Complication

Intestinal Bleeding

After the third week of the illness, intestinal bleeding can develop. A hole can occur in the small intestine and large bowel. Contents of the intestine leak into the stomach and it causes stomach pain, nausea and vomiting and sepsis ( bloodstream infection).

Less Common Complications:

• Inflammation of the heart muscle
• Pneumonia
• Infection of major blood vessels
• Kidney or bladder infection
• Inflammation of the lining of the heart and valves
• Meningitis ( Infection and inflammation of the membrane and fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord)
• Psychiatric Problems

Diagnosis Of Typhoid Fever

Simple blood and stool test is conducted to diagnose Typhoid Fever. This test identifies the presence of Salmonella Typhi in the blood or stool. This test is performed under the microscope for Salmonella Typhi. Testing a sample of bone marrow is the accurate result of Typhoid fever.

Vaccines:

There are two types of vaccines available for Typhoid Fever:

Inactivated or Killed vaccine: It is given as an injection. It is administered to people two years or older.

Live attenuated (weakened vaccine): It is given orally to 6 years people or more.

Disclaimer: All the content of this article is for information purposes only.

References:

www.cdc.gov

www.nhs.uk

www.clevalandclinic.org