What is Tyhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. In the United States about 400 cases occur each year, and 75% of these are acquired while traveling internationally. Typhoid fever is still common in the developing world, where it affects about 21.5 million persons each year.
Quoted from cdc.gov

Typhoid fever, also known as typhus, is an illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar typhi. Common worldwide, typhoide is transmitted by the fecal-oral route — the 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.
Quoted from Wikipedia

via wikipedia - Mary Mallon (left bed) in a hospital bed during her first quarantine

Who is Typhoid Mary?

• Typhoid Mary - Urban Legends
  Mary Mallon, born in 1869, was one of countless Irish immigrants who came to the United States in search of a better life. She arrived in New York around the age of fifteen, but not much else is known about her background because she hated giving information about herself…
• Dinner With Typhoid Mary - News Day (Whole story)
  Mary Mallon was working as a cook for a wealthy New York banker, Charles Henry Warren, and his family. The Warrens had rented a house in Oyster Bay for the summer…
• DetailedProfile of Typhoid Mary - About
  Soon, Mrs. Warren and two maids became ill; followed by the gardener and another Warren daughter. In total, six of the eleven people in the house came down with typhoid…
• The Most Dangerous Woman in America - PBS Nova
  Read an impassioned letter Mary Mallon wrote in 1909, when she petitioned the courts for her release. Follow an illustrated chronology, from Roman times to the present. Trace the outbreak of a mysterious illness, “dizzy fever,” to its source.

How can you avoid typhoid fever?

Two basic actions can protect you from typhoid fever:

• Avoid risky foods and drinks.

• Get vaccinated against typhoid fever. (Don’t worry, there’re oral vaccines.)
  

via scoop.co.nz

Watching what you eat and drink when you travel is as important as being vaccinated. This is because the vaccines are not completely effective. Avoiding risky foods will also help protect you from other illnesses, including travelers’ diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis A.
Source: cdc.gov

What are the Symptoms of Typhoid Fever?

The incubation period is 10 to 20 days and depends on, among other things, how large a dose of bacteria has been taken in.

In the mild disease, the bacterium is eliminated very early in the course of the disease and there are perhaps only mild symptoms. It is possible to become a healthy carrier of infection.

There are two phases of classic typhoid fever:

• 1st phase: the patient’s temperature rises gradually to 40ºC and the general condition becomes very poor with bouts of sweating, no appetite, coughing and headache. Constipation and skin symptoms may be the clearest symptoms. Children often vomit and have diarrhoea. The first phase lasts a week and towards the end the patient shows increasing listlessness and clouding of consciousness.

• 2nd phase: in the second to third weeks of the disease, symptoms of intestinal infection are manifested and the fever remains very high and the pulse becomes weak and rapid. In the third week the constipation is replaced by severe pea-soup-like diarrhoea. The faeces may also contain blood. It is not until the fourth or fifth week that the fever drops and the general condition slowly improves.
  Source: netdoctor.co.uk

Typhoid Fever Treatment

Antibiotic therapy is the only effective treatment for typhoid and paratyphoid fevers. In the past, the drug of choice was chloramphenicol. Doctors no longer commonly use it, however, because of severe side effects, a high relapse rate and widespread bacterial resistance. In fact, the existence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a serious and growing problem in the treatment of typhoid.

In the United States, most doctors now prescribe ciprofloxacin for adults other than pregnant women. Women who are pregnant and children most often receive ceftriaxone (Rocephin) injections. And…

• Drinking fluids. This helps prevent the dehydration that results from a prolonged fever and diarrhea. If you’re severely dehydrated, you may need to receive fluids through a vein in your arm (intravenously).
• Eating a healthy diet. Nonbulky, high-calorie meals can help replace the nutrients you lose when you’re sick.
  Source: Mayo Clinic