Typhoid Fever Essay, Research Paper

IntroductionTyphoid fever is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract and occasionally the bloodstream, and is from the Salmonella species. Risk of infection is greatest for travellers to developing countries who will have prolonged exposure to potentially contaminated food and beverages.Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract and occasionally the bloodstream.Symptoms*Fever as high as 103. to 104. F (39. to 40. C).*Severe headache*Insomnia*Nose bleeding*Either diarrhoea or constipation*Weakness*Stomach pains*Loss of appetite*A rash*Chills*Sore throat*And in some cases, rose coloured spots may appear.*If no treatment is done, it may lead to pneumonia.Preventive Measures *Isolation of infected person, usually only people who cant control their need to go to the toilet, eg: babies, and some disabled people.*Personal Hygiene*Hand washing before eating *Clean and careful food preparation *Drink safe water *Safe Water *Sanitation If you drink water, buy it bottled or bring it to boil for 1minute before you drink it. Bottled carbonated water is safer than uncarbonated water.  Ask for drinks without ice unless the ice is made from bottled or boiled water. Avoid icypoles and flavoured ices that may have been made with contaminated water.  Eat foods that have been thoroughly cooked and that are still hot and steaming.  Avoid raw vegetables and fruits that cannot be peeled. Vegetables like lettuce are easily contaminated and are very hard to wash well.  When you eat raw fruit or vegetables that can be peeled, peel them yourself. (Wash your hands with soap first.) Do not eat the peelings.  Avoid foods and beverages from street vendors. It is difficult for food to be kept clean on the street, and many travellers get sick from food bought from street vendors. Bread is safest when served fresh from the oven.  Avoid moist grain dishes (like rice) that have been allowed to sit at room temperature for long periods of time. Don’t swim or fish in polluted waters, and don’t eat fish that may have been caught in such waters.  As a last resort, if no source of safe drinking water is available or can be obtained, tap water that is uncomfortably hot to touch may be safer than cold tap water; however, proper disinfection or boiling is still advised.Mode of Transmission Salmonella Typhi only lives in humans. Persons with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract. In addition, a small number of persons called carriers, recover from typhoid fever but continue to carry the bacteria. Typhoid germs are passed in the faeces and, to some extent, the urine of infected people. The germs are spread by eating or drinking water or foods contaminated by faeces from the infected individual.

Symptoms generally appear one to three weeks after exposure.Only about 3 percent of cases go on to become lifelong carriers of the germ and this tends to occur more often in adults than in children, but, Typhoid can affect men, woman and children of any age.Treatment Keep well hydrated – increase fluid intake.Maintain good nutrition.Go to the nearest doctor or hospital.Antibiotics can sometimes help.Vaccination should be considered for laboratory workers in potential contact with Salmonella Typhi. Three vaccines are currently available in Australia. The oral vaccine and Vi antigen injectable vaccine generally cause fewer adverse reactions than the heat-inactivated injectable vaccine. All are about equally effective. Vaccination does not offer full protection from infection, and travellers should be advised to exercise care in selecting food and drink.Specific antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, ampicillin or ciprofloxacin are often used to treat cases of typhoid. Fatalities are less than 1 percent with antibiotic treatment. After 1948 treatment with antibiotics, particularly with chloramphenicol, proved to be effective.But, there is a rare chance that other serious problems and even death could occur after getting these vaccines. FactsIn the United States about 400 cases occur each year, and 70% of these are acquired while travelling internationally. Typhoid fever is still common in the developing world, where it affects about 12.5 million persons each year. In Victoria, approximately 30 40 cases of typhoid fever occur each year, the majority being in returned travellers, especially from the Indian subcontinent.Once Typhi bacteria are eaten or drunk, they multiply and spread into the bloodstream. The body reacts with fever and other signs and symptoms.Because the germ is passed in the faeces of infected people, only people with active diarrhoea who are unable to control their bowel habits (infants, certain handicapped individuals) should be isolated. Most infected people may return to work or school when they have recovered, provided that they carefully wash hands after toilet visits. Children in day care and other sensitive settings must obtain the approval of the local or state health department before returning to their routine activities. Food handlers may not return to work until three consecutive negative stool cultures are confirmed. Typhoid fever is common in most parts of the world except in industrialised regions such as the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and Japan. Therefore, if you are travelling to the developing world, you should consider taking precautions.Typhoid is slowly disappearing from the U.S. because of the new and improved preventive measures; the number of cases dropped from 5,595 in 1942 to about 500 in 1979. Compulsory inspection of milk and water supplies, and the pasteurisation of milk in particular, have greatly reduced the incidence of the typhoid bacilli.