Smileband health topics

Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. Salmonella typhi lives only in humans. Persons with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract. A small number of persons, called carriers, recover from typhoid fever but continue to carry the bacteria. Both ill persons and carriers shed S. typhi in their feces (stool).

Often characterized by:

• insidious onset of sustained fever
• headache
• malaise
• anorexia
• relative bradycardia
• constipation or diarrhea
• nonproductive cough

However, many mild and atypical infections occur.

In Arizona, there is a range of 5 to 15 cases of typhoid fever reported every year. In 2015, all cases had international travel or travel outside of Arizona.

Arizona 5 year median: 7 cases

Transmission

Transmission occurs when an individual consumes water or food that has been contaminated. Transmission through sexual contact, particularly among men who have sex with men, has been rarely documented. Isolation Precautions

Standard precautions are recommended in healthcare settings. 

Prevention for Patients

• If traveling to a country where typhoid is common, consider getting vaccinated against typhoid.
• Avoid eating undercooked or raw meats and seafood and drinking unfiltered or untreated water.

Public Health Actions
Public health will conduct case investigation to determine the source, identify contacts, and transmission setting. 

Cases or contacts should be excluded from working as a food handler, caring for children in or attending a child care establishment, or caring for patients or residents in a healthcare institution. 

Public health will facilitate forwarding specimens to the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory.