what causes TYPHOID? what is the treatment and precautions to be taken?how long it takes to recover?

Answer 1

Typhoid fever (or enteric fever) is an illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. Common worldwide, it is transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces from an infected person. The bacteria then multiply in the blood stream of the infected person and are absorbed into the digestive tract and eliminated with the waste.

Treatment:-

Typhoid fever can be fatal. Antibiotics, such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ciprofloxacin, have been commonly used to treat typhoid fever in developed countries. Prompt treatment of the disease with antibiotics reduces the case-fatality rate to approximately 1%. Usage of Ofloxacin along with Lactobacillus acidophilus is also recommended.

When untreated, typhoid fever persists for three weeks to a month. Death occurs in between 10% and 30% of untreated cases. Vaccines for typhoid fever are available and are advised for persons traveling in regions where the disease is common (especially Asia, Africa and Latin America). Typhim Vi is an intramuscular killed-bacteria vaccination and Vivotif is an oral live bacteria vaccination, both of which protect against typhoid fever. Neither vaccine is 100% effective against typhoid fever and neither protects against unrelated typhus.

Answer 2

Typhoid fever appears to have afflicted human beings for millennia, but the cause of the illness — a virulent and invasive bacterium called Salmonella typhi — wasn't discovered until the late 19th century. A different pathogen, Salmonella paratyphi, causes paratyphoid fever. Although they're related, these aren't the same as the bacteria responsible for salmonellosis, another serious intestinal infection.

Typhoid Fever is treated with antibiotics which kill the Salmonella bacteria. Prior to the use of antibiotics, the fatality rate was 10%. Death occurred from overwhelming infection, pneumonia, intestinal bleeding, or intestinal perforation. With antibiotics and supportive care, mortality has been reduced to 1-2%.

Several antibiotics are effective for the treatment of typhoid fever. Chloramphenicol was the original drug of choice for many years. Because of rare serious side effects, chloramphenicol has been replaced by other effective antibiotics. If relapses occur, patients are retreated with antibiotics.

The carrier state, which occurs in 3-5% of those infected, can be treated with prolonged antibiotics. Often, removal of the gallbladder, the site of chronic infection, will cure the carrier state.

For those traveling to high risk areas, vaccines are now available.

Typhoid Fever At A Glance
Typhoid Fever is caused by salmonellae typhi bacteria.
Typhoid Fever is contracted by the ingestion of contaminated food or water.
Diagnosis of typhoid fever is made when the Salmonella bacteria is detected with a stool culture.
Typhoid Fever is treated with antibiotics.
Typhoid Fever symptoms are poor appetite, headaches, generalized aches and pains, fever, and lethargy.
3-5% of patients become carriers of the bacteria after the acute illness.

Answer 3

Hi there..

Casused by organisms called as "Salmonella Typhi" or "Salmonella Paratyphi" !

Once upon a time treat ment of choice used to be chloramphenicol..
Now the other drugs like ciprofloxacin and similar antibiotics are advised depending upon the culture/sensitivity reports of the patient..

Precaution..very simple..whatever we eat and drink should be from and in hygienic environment..
The spread is through faecal contamination of the items we eat and drink.. since the bacteria gets expelled out of the body in large numbers thro' stools by the 3rd week if the illness..
Take boiled water .. whether at home or outside...

It takes around 3 weeks for recovery..depending upon the stage of DIAGNOSIS...
Earlier diagnosis ..means early recovery..
Typhoid fever can become fatal if not diagnosed and treated at the right time..

Now vaccines are availble....check with your family doctor further details..

best wishes..

Answer 4

Salmonella Typhi lives only 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. Both ill persons and carriers shed S. Typhi in their feces (stool).

You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding S. Typhi or if sewage contaminated with S. Typhi bacteria gets into the water you use for drinking or washing food. Therefore, typhoid fever is more common in areas of the world where hand washing is less frequent and water is likely to be contaminated with sewage.

Once S. Typhi bacteria are eaten or drunk, they multiply and spread into the bloodstream. The body reacts with fever and other signs and symptoms. (Source: excerpt from Typhoid Fever (General): DBMD)
Contaminated drinking water or food. Large epidemics are most often related to fecal contamination of water supplies or street vended foods. A chronic carrier state--excretion of the organism for more than 1 year--occurs in approximately 5% of infected persons. (Source: excerpt from Typhoid Fever: DBMD)

treatments course of veccines

Answer 5

you must not eat junk food and outside water, treatment take saline-cifran 100mg 2 a day, cap- ofiacine and precautions are eat proper food and drink clean water. It taker5 days to recover.

Answer 6

http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/DBMD/diseaseinfo/typhoidfever_g.htm