Typhoid is caused by a special kind of bacteria which is usually deposited in contaminated water or food that serve as carriers when consumed. It can also be contracted by coming into close contact with an infected person.
Vaccines for typhoid are available at the Family Health Service Line at the Aga Khan University Hospital. They only partially immunize you and may obstruct you from catching the bacteria. However, these vaccines are beneficial if you are traveling to a country which is a high-risk zone.
Symptoms
The symptoms take around 2 weeks to show once you have been infected by the disease. The normal course of this disease is around 4 weeks. The symptoms occur in two phases:
First phase:
- Fever that starts low but goes as high as 104.9 F (40.5 C)
- Weakness, tiredness and fatigue
- Muscle cramps
- Excessive sweating
- Splitting headache
- Loss of appetite
- Extremely swollen abdomen
- Cough without presence of phlegm
- Weight loss
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Abdominal pain
- Chest congestion
Second Phase:
- In case the first set of symptoms are not treated, you may fall back in a state of delirium
- You may lay down eyes open, staring at one spot for long. This is known as a typhoid state
- Life threatening issues may also arise if the symptoms are not treated at the right time
Diagnosis
Your doctors will prescribe a simple blood, urine or stool test to identity the typhoid bacteria in your blood culture or body fluid.
Treatment
You will be prescribed medications from our doctors in the attempts to cure the diseases. For severe cases of typhoid, our doctors may also prescribe a longer course of medication.
