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Pathology of Typhoid Fever Essay

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Generally a fever is associated with a common cold, but in some cases a fever can be one of the symptoms of the deadly disease Typhoid fever. Typhoid fever is caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. It is most common in underdeveloped countries but many cases have appeared in the United States and many Western countries. In some places, Typhoid fever is the leading killer of people. There are key symptoms to look out for, many ways to diagnose it, different treatments, and a hopeful prognosis for those who are infected. This disease has been around for ages, it can date back to the 400 BC, when it struck many villages in Athens and killed one third of the population. The leader of the Athens at that time, Pericles was also affected …show more content…

Typhoid fever usually affects patients between the ages five and ninteen, although it can affect people of either sex at any age. There was a recent outbreak in 2004 in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The fatality rate was 30%, and until sanitation and clean water was brought to the area there were 214 reported deaths and 42,000 cases. There are many common symptoms of Typhoid fever that people can be on the lookout for if they suspect they have been infected. “The symptoms of typhoid include high fever, chills, cough, muscle pain, weakness, stomach pain, headache, and a rash made up of flat, rose-colored spots” (Aldridge, 2008). If a person infected with the bacteria begins to notice these symptoms, a doctor should be notified immediately. The course of an untreated Typhoid fever takes about four weeks. The first week there is an increase in the temperature of the infected person, along with a cough and headache. The second week consists of a high fever, the person becomes delusional, red spots begin to appear on the body, the spleen and liver become enlarged and there is a low red blood cell count. In the third week the symptoms are getting increasingly deadly, complications such as an intestinal hemorrhage, and the fever is still high. These complications continue on to the fourth and final week. Untreated cases of Typhoid fever may take

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