In recent weeks we have been living in Madrid for a salmonellosis outbreak of (relatively) large dimensions, as a result of the contamination of some potato tortillas in the Casa Dani restaurant.
The bacteria of the genus Salmonella they can cause various gastrointestinal infections of slightly different nature and severity; the most common is what we know as salmonellosis and it is the one that has been detected in the Villa. However, perhaps one of the most severe is the one caused by the species Salmonella typhi, known as typhoid fever.
What is typhoid fever?
Thus, according to the American Mayo Clinic, typhoid fever is the picture that causes infection by the bacteria Salmonella typhi. It is also known as enteric fever, but it must be noted that it is a disease other than the famous typhus, caused by bacteria of the genus Rickettsia.
It is a digestive disease, which is mainly contracted by the fecal-oral route or by ingesting contaminated water or food, sometimes by contact with flies (which transmit it from one source to another in unhygienic environments).
What are your symptoms?
Main typhoid fever symptoms They are diarrhea, gastroenteritis, profuse sweating, constant high fever (around 40º) and, in rarer cases, a characteristic type of rash.
These symptoms appear slowly over an incubation period of between 10 and 15 days, with disorders such as swelling of the nasal mucosa, changes in the color of the tongue, ulcers or diarrhea.
Once the fever reaches 40º the intensity of the same is sufficient so that delusions are frequentwhich is why typhoid fever has traditionally been called nervous fever.
As the disease progresses, various serious complications, such as inflammation of the liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), Peyer’s patch congestion, peritonitis, abscesses, encephalitis, cholecystitis, endocarditis, myocarditis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, pneumonia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, hepatitis, osteitis, and renal failure. If left untreated, it has a mortality of between 10 and 30%.
After overcoming the disease, many people are still asymptomatic carriers for a while (or even for life). In addition, there are rare instances of completely asymptomatic cases without a clinical history (without having gone through a symptomatic phase).
How is it treated?
The central strategy against typhoid fever is the use of antibiotics such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, cotrichomoxazole or ciproflaxin. However, the endurance that the bacterium is developing in recent years is forcing the search for others such as fleroxacin.
At the same time, it is common to provide support to the patient, alleviating dehydration through intravenous fluid supply and the adoption of a bland diet. Even, in severe cases, intravenous feeding may also be necessary.
On the other hand, it is essential enteric isolation (that is, the disinfection of clothes and tableware used by the patient), as well as not sharing a bathroom with healthy people to avoid further infections.