Typhoid is a highly infectious disease which spread from one person to the other. It is caused by bacteria called salmonella typhi. The bacteria thrive in human, and are expelled from the human body mainly through stool and urine.
You get typhoid by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by with human body waste. The disease is common in places where hygiene and sanitary conditions are poor. It is primarily for this reason that it is no longer common in the developed countries.
The greatest threat to other people comes from healthy carriers of the salmonella typhi bacteria who are food handlers at home, hotels and food industries. Everybody is at risk of being affected and especially if you are above five years old.
The symptoms of the disease include body ache, fever, fatigue, abdominal pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and constipation. Constipation and skin symptoms may be the clearest symptoms. The first stage lasts 10 to 20 days from where the patient will show listlessness and clouding of consciousness. Thereafter symptoms of intestinal infection are manifested; pulse becomes weak and rapid, and extreme diarrhoea which may contain blood.
Severity of the disease will however depend on the degree of contamination to salmonella typhi, patient’s age and how fast the correct treatment is started.
This is a fatal disease and not the kind of disease that you may attempt to treat yourself. If you suspect you have typhoid, seek the help of a doctor immediately. In serious cases, complications such as intestinal perforations, bleeding, and heart and nervous disorders can develop, leading to death. Typhoid has symptoms similar to other diseases like malaria and misdiagnosis may lead to death. It is therefore very important to make the right diagnosis promptly so that the infection is treated early.
The treatment will include antibiotics prescribed by your doctor and the medicine should be taken as per the doctor’s instruction without failure. The salmonella typhi bacteria are everyday becoming more and more resistance to most antibiotics resulting to high deaths in humans.
To protect yourself against getting typhoid, all you need is to observe basic sanitary and hygiene measures. As the salmonella typhi bacteria are transmitted through contaminated water and food, it is important to apply cleanliness in food preparation and handling. Food handlers in hotels and food industries should undergo medical test regularly to determine if they are having salmonella typhi bacteria.
Today, you can ask your doctor for vaccination to protect yourself and you family against typhoid. The vaccine can provide immunity against typhoid for at least three years. This is especially very important if you are traveling out of your country and in particular to some parts of Asia, Africa, Central and South America, where salmonella typhi bacteria occasionally causes epidemics.
The first known case of a healthy carrier of typhoid salmonella typhi bacteria was reported in US in 1907 from a lady known as Mary Mallon.... When health inspectors led by George Soper, a civil engineer with experience in typhoid fever outbreaks, knocked on Mary’s door in 1907, Mary seized a carving fork and advanced in Soper's direction who felt rather lucky to have escaped...
This story is continued here: How to Protect Yourself from Getting Typhoid
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