Typhoid Fever: Signs, Symptoms and Prevention

Typhoid fever is caused by bacteria known as Salmonella Typhi. It can be confirmed with a medical test called an ELSA, which looks for IgM and IgG antibodies which will be found along the outer membrane of the bacteria of Salmonella typhi. Another test that can determine if a person as contracted typhoid fever is a Widal test, but it is often incorrect and is very time consuming. A common medical term called "enteric fever" refers to severe typhoid and paratypoid infections.

Typhoid fever is often spread by poor public hygiene or a malfunction of the public sanitation conditions. Insets that feed on feces can also be a way for typhoid fever to be transmitted, but it is notably less common. The bacteria that causes typhoid fever can contaminate water sources and then quickly effect large populations. In modern times, chlorine has been added to the drinking water and it severely reduces the risk of contracting typhoid fever. This disease is one of the main reasons that anyone handling food should wash their hands after using the bathroom, as this is a big way to spread the disease.

After contracting typhoid fever, there are four stages of the disease that occur if the patient does not go and seek medical attention. In the first stage, the person sufferes from a fever, which fluctuates frequently. They will experience cough, headache, a slower heart rate of under 60 beats per minute, and overall discomfort and unease. The second phase makes the person who contracted the disease extremely tired. By now, they are experiencing a severe decrease in their white blood cells that are out in circulation, and that is making them very weak. It is in the second phase where people start to enter a confused state known as delirium, which gave typhoid fever the nickname "nervous fever." In this phase, the feces turns green and looks like pea soup, but is associated with constipation.

The abdomen is swollen in the right lower side and the liver and spleen are also swollen. In the third phase, the most dangerous complications occur. These threatening symptoms include intestinal hemmoraging and perforation, encephalitis, pneumonia, bronchitis and peyer's patches (lymphoid nodules). It is in the third phase where there is the greatest risk of fatality. Next is the fourth phase, in which, if the patient survives, the fever starts to subside.

In conclusion, prevention is the best form of preparation when it comes to typhoid fever. The best forms of preparation when it comes to this disease are sanitation and hygeine. Typhoid fever is a disease that is specific to humans and does not effect any other animals, there fore it is only spread in human environments. This makes it much more dangerous to humans as human fecal matter must be properly disposed of so that it does not enter any sources of fresh drinking water. In addition to that, measures must be taken to assure that food has been prepared properly by those who wash their hands after defecation. If these measures are all taken, there will be a low incident rate of typhoid fever.