Typhoid is a severe, infectious and life-threatening disease. It is spread through unhygienic food, drinks and water where bacteria S.typhi develop which make person ill. Person who consume contaminated water exhibit symptoms of fever with severe complications. Various drugs used to treat typhoid are unsuccessful against resistant strains of typhoid bacteria. In developing country such as India, it is a great threat and a major cause of death. Typhoid disease mainly hit on children who are in school-going age. It is not very common in adults and older people.

Typhoid is a communicable disease and it is transmitted in many ways in India. Bacteria of typhoid are survived in unhygienic conditions. These bacteria are spread by typhoid patients and carriers in large quantities through stools and vomit. The bacteria then travel to food, drinks and water through house-flies and other insects. Such foods are contaminated. When these contaminated food or drinks, are taken by healthy person, bacteria enter in to the body of person and causes typhoid fever. Person may get typhoid fever by consuming food or drink that has been carried by someone having the bacteria, or if sewage contaminated with S. typhi gets into water used for drinking or washing food. A person infected with S.typhi may infect others, as the bacteria remain in the body for months. There are 107 different strains of this bacterium. Paratyphoid is caused by Salmonella enteritidis paratyphi A, B or C. It is generally a less infection than typhoid. A very low percent of typhoid patients remain chronic carriers regardless of treatment. Most common complications are intestinal bleeding and perforation. The source of fever is polluted water. In India, due to population explosion, water is polluted and this disease is matter of worry especially in disaster areas, where water supply and sewage disposal are disrupted. Raw vegetables grown on sewage fields also spread infection. The bacteria can survive in soil and water for several months. They grow rapidly in milk and milk-products. Unhygienic conditions in surroundings are mainly responsible for the prevalent infection.

Common Symptoms When person is infected with typhoid, in the early stages he/she shows high fever, persistent headache, abdominal discomfort, constipation, diarrhea, nasal bleeding, weakness, dizziness and nausea and loss of appetite. These symptoms can be very severe and if proper treatment is not given immediately there is a risk of mortality. Patients suffer from: Constant high fever, diarrhea and constipation, variable degrees of unconsciousness in later stages. Typhoid sometimes shows several confusing symptoms, which are difficult to diagnose by physicians.

Treatment As it is said for all diseases, prevention is the best remedy. For typhoid, proper antibiotics have to be used. There is a growing frequency of resistant strains of the bacteria. Other treatment is to reduce symptoms through drinking more fluids. This prevents the dehydration that results from a prolonged fever and diarrhea. If a patient is severely dehydrated, he may need to receive fluids intravenously. Patient must take a healthy diet. Non bulky, high-calorie meals can help replace the nutrients he loses when people are sick. Even after treatment with antibiotics, some people who recover from typhoid fever continue to carry the bacteria in their intestinal tract or gallbladder for years. Such people called chronic carriers. They carry the bacteria in their feces and are capable of infecting others, although they no longer have signs or symptoms of the disease themselves.

People must take medical advice when they suspect that they have typhoid fever. If they become ill while traveling in a foreign country, immediately search for the list of doctors. It is always better to know in advance about medical care in the areas they have to visit, and keep a list of the names, addresses and phone numbers of recommended doctors. Doctor whether local or state medical society can help provides the required information. If someone develops signs and symptoms on his return to home, consider consulting a doctor who focuses on international travel medicine or infectious diseases. A consultant will recognize and treat illness more quickly than a doctor who is not trained in these areas can. Person must seek immediate assistance if he feels some symptoms of typhoid no matter where he is staying.

Prevention Today government of India is focusing on such dreaded disease and organizing many programs, generating awareness through media to prevent it. In many developing nations, the public health goal is to prevent and control typhoid by safe drinking water, improved sanitation and adequate medical care but it is quite difficult to achieve. Because it is a tough task to change the living style of people in short span. On this ground, many professionals believe that vaccinating high-risk populations is the best way to control typhoid fever. Clean hygienic habits, drinking only purified water, abstaining from eating raw leafy vegetables and food left in the open. Vaccination is also necessary to avert the disease. A single injection given 2 years onwards gives protection against typhoid for 3 years. It will shield person who is traveling to a country where typhoid fever is prevalent. Doses can be choosen between a four-dose oral vaccine and a single-dose injection. Both are up to 75 per cent effective at preventing the infection. Two types of vaccine- an oral typhoid vaccine and a single-dose injectable vaccine that produces fewer side effects than the older two-dose injectable vaccine. Both vaccines are similarly effectual and offer great protection against the illness. The oral vaccine (Vivotif) contains a live but weakened strain of the Salmonella bacteria that causes typhoid fever.

The vaccine consists of four capsules that are taken every other day over a one-week period. The capsule protects the vaccine against stomach acid so it remains active when it reaches the intestine where the immunity develops. The oral vaccine can be given either as a first-time dose or as a booster dose. The protection should last about 5 years, at which time another booster dose would be needed if traveling again. The oral vaccine is not recommended for children under 6 years old. The single-dose injectable vaccine (Typhim Vi) containing capsular polysaccharide antigen is available. The protection offered by this vaccine is effective starting 2 weeks after injection and should last for 2 years. Subsequent booster doses are recommended at 2-year intervals. This vaccine can be used in children as young as 2 years old. Side effects, while greater than those of the oral vaccine, are much less than those experienced with the old 2-dose injectable vaccine.

People must know that if they have to avoid such disease, it’s their duty to create awareness program. Only few people can not control the threat. This is a program that must be organized at mass level.