Dangers of Typhoid: Are You In The Know?

In a previous post about typhoid fever, I discussed the importance of the typhoid vaccine. Today, I am going to show the effects of typhoid fever, the warning signs, the symptoms, and why the vaccine should even be considered. The vaccination as I stated in the previous article about typhoid fever, though it has side-effects, are not severe and have been proven to be rather mild with such side effects as headaches, fever, and swelling at the site of the injection.

Every year, there are 16 million new cases of typhoid fever around the world. The virus mostly infects an individual’s liver, intestines, gallbladder, spleen, urinary and digestive system. Transmission of the virus can occur when an individual ingests contaminated food and water that have traces of the bacteria or infected feces of a person who carries the virus. Poor hygiene habits, poor public sanitation conditions, and flying insects that feed on feces can also lead to possible infection of the virus. Due to these numerous causes, many educational programs have highly suggested people to change their hygiene habits, to wash their hands thoroughly after cleaning after themselves and before handling food.

Symptoms appear within the first week after infection. Early symptoms, as with many other diseases, are flu-like causing fever, muscle aches, cough, and headaches. By the end of the first week, there is already a decrease in white blood cells which are the immune system’s primary defense against infection and disease. As the weeks go by, symptoms gradually worsen causing high fever, rashes, diarrhea, chills, delirium, constant nosebleeds, severe fatigue, hallucinations, and strong abdominal pain. Red spots also begin to appear on the lower chest and stomach. At its worst, typhoid fever eventually causes intestinal hemorrhage (due to bleeding on parts of the torn lymphoid tissue in the lower intestine), and intestinal perforation (an open hole in the final section of the small intestine) which is serious and in nearly all cases fatal.

Typhoid fever can last between three weeks to a month and an individual can recover after treatment. It’s been discovered that in cases that are untreated, about 10-30% of infected individuals do not survive. Those in the recovery process may have to go through surgical procedures if they endured intestinal perforation.

Despite the fact that the number of the cases in some parts of the world have decreased greatly thanks to the raising of awareness of typhoid by many public educational programs, vaccination is still recommended to prevent infection. There some parts of the world that the virus is still prevalent especially in developing countries where healthcare is low and poor sanitary conditions is common. So if you are planning to travel this summer, take into consideration vaccination because it’ll help you have immunity against the virus for many years. Even if you are not travelling, it’s best to begin considering the vaccine. We are surrounded by millions of people a year and going from place to place all the time. Sometimes the people that are in our surroundings may have hygiene habits that we may be unaware of.

In 1906, an incident occurred when a recovered typhoid victim was working as a cook. Mary Mallon suffered typhoid fever but was treated and though she had recovered, she still carried the virus and was a carrier for the rest of her life. During her time as a cook, beginning in 1906, she infected more than 50 individuals, three of whom who later died from typhoid. 

Once more, this article is not meant to strike fear in society nor warn people of a possible outbreak. But it is still important to consider vaccination because the disease can infect anybody and can be transmitted into an individual without them even noticing. If you are considering vaccination or are in need of it, visit us at our website at www.travelclinicny.com or call us at 212-696-5900 to schedule an appointment. Find out how you can get the typhoid vaccination today! As I always say, a clean bill of health is always bliss!