Health Topics: /Typhoid/Enteric Fever

Enteric fever, also known as typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease caused by the ingestion of contaminated food or water which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica enterica, serovarTyphi. It is very common in India. Symptoms usually develop one to two weeks after exposure, and may be mild or severe. Symptoms include high fever, malaise, headache, constipation or diarrhoea, rose-colored spots on the chest, and enlarged spleen and liver. Healthy carrier state may follow acute illness. Typhoid fever can be treated with antibiotics.

However, resistance to common antimicrobials is widespread. Healthy carriers should be excluded from handling food.

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Your doctor may look for symptoms and medical histroy, if he suspects typhoid. but diagnosis is generally confirmed by blood culture.

Blood culture:
complete blood count (CBC)will show a high number of white blood cells. A blood culture during the first week of the fever can show S. typhi bacteria. Body fluid or tissue culture For the culture, a small sample of blood, stool, urine or bone marrow is placed on a special medium that encourages the growth of bacteria.

In 48 to 72 hours, the culture is analysed under a microscope for the presence of bacteria. A bone marrow culture is often regarded as a more sensitive test for S. typhi. Although performing a culture test is the essential for diagnosis, in some instances other testing may be used to confirm a suspected typhoid infection, such as a test to detect antibodies to typhoid bacteria in blood or a test that checks for typhoid DNA in blood.

Other tests include:

  • ELISA (Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) urine test to look for the bacteria that cause Typhoid fever
  • Fluorescent antibody to look for antibodies that are specific to Typhoid bacteria
  • Platelet count (platelet count will be low)

This is an indicative treatment. One should consult a physician before reaching to any conclusion.

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Medications: A fluoroquinolone such as ciprofloxacin. A third-generation cephalosporin such as ceftriaxone orcefotaxime is the first choice. Cefixime is a suitable oral alternative. Antibiotics, such as ampicillin,chloramphenicol, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin, have been commonly used to treat enteric fever.

This is an indicative information for better understanding of health. For any treatment purpose you should consult your physician.

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