What is typhoid?
Typhoid fever is caused by a bacterium (germ) called Salmonella typhi. This bacterium may contaminate food or drink in areas of poor sanitation. Symptoms include diarrhoea, high fever, and a serious illness which may last for some time. It is sometimes fatal. (Note: there are many types of Salmonella bacteria. Most types remain in the gut and cause diarrhoea, often as part of ‘food poisoning’. The type called Salmonella typhi can get from the gut into other parts of the body and cause the more serious illness of typhoid fever.) People with typhoid fever pass out the bacteria with their faeces (motions). Even when symptoms have gone, about 1 in 10 people who have had typhoid fever remain ‘carriers’. This means that some bacteria continue to live inside the gut, and you continue to pass out bacteria with your faeces. If hygiene is not good, the bacteria can be passed to others who may then get typhoid fever. About half of carriers become free of the typhoid bacteria within three months,
