Typhoid fever is an acute gastrointestinal disease caused by Salmonella typhi. Symptoms include chronic fever up to 40C (104F), sweating, abdominal pain, gastroenteritis, severe diarrhea and headache. Intestinal bleeding or perforation is the most serious complication. Fluoroquinolones is the preferred drug to treat typhoid. Surgery can be considered if intestinal bleeding does not stop after active treatment. Human is the only host of Salmonella typhi. Water or food contaminated by feces of patients or carriers is the main source of infection. The key to prevention of typhoid fever outbreak and pandemic is early diagnosis, isolation and treatment of patients and carriers, as well as environmental sanitation.
How is Typhoid fever treated in practice?