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Typhoid Fever

Prevention

Hygienic sewage disposal systems in a community, as well as hygienic personal practices, are the most important factors in preventing typhoid fever. For travelers who expect to go to countries where S. typhi is a known public health problem, immunizations are available. Some of these immunizations provide only short term protection (for a few months), while others may be protective for several years. Immunizations which provide a longer period of protection, with fewer side effects from the vaccine itself, are being developed.


Resources

Books

Berkow, Robert, and Andrew J. Fletcher. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. Rahway, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 1992.

Cormican, M.G., and M.A. Pfaller. "Molecular Pathology of Infectious Diseases." In Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods 20th ed. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 2001.

Isselbacher, Kurt J., et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York: McGraw Hill, 1994.

Kobayashi, G., Patrick R. Murray, Ken Rosenthal, and Michael Pfaller. Medical Microbiology. St. Louis: Mosby, 2003.


Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt

KEY TERMS

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Asymptomatic

—A state in which an individual experiences no symptoms of a disease.

Bacteremia

—Bacteria in the blood.

Carrier

—An individual who has a particular bacteria present within his/her body, and can pass this bacteria on to others, but who displays no symptoms of infection.

Epidemic

—A situation in which a particular infection is experienced by a very large percentage of the people in a given community within a given time frame.

Mononuclear phagocytes

—A type of cell of the human immune system which is responsible for ingesting bacteria, viruses, and other foreign matter, thus removing potentially harmful substances from the bloodstream.

Additional topics

Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Two-envelope paradox to VenusTyphoid Fever - How Salmonella Typhi Is Spread, Progression And Symptomatology, Treatment, Prevention - Diagnosis