Typhoid fever
Patient education
- Unsafe food or water can spread it
- Fever needs assessment
- Hygiene still matters after recovery
What it is
An infection caught from contaminated food or water. It builds over days rather than arriving suddenly.
When to seek urgent care
There is severe stomach pain, vomiting that will not stop, blood in the stool, or confusion.
How it shows
Fever that climbs a little higher each day, headache, stomach pain, tiredness, and either constipation or loose stool.
What to do
See a clinician and ask about testing. Typhoid is frequently diagnosed on a blood test alone that is not reliable on its own, so it is worth asking what the result actually means and whether malaria has been ruled out, since the two look alike here.
Typhoid needs a prescription. Buying antibiotics over a counter for a fever that has not been diagnosed is how resistance spreads, and it makes the real cause harder to find.
How it spreads and how it is checked
Typhoid is a bacterial infection spread when food or water is contaminated by an infected person's stool. Fever, tiredness, headache and abdominal discomfort may occur with diarrhoea or constipation. These symptoms overlap with malaria and other infections.
A clinician may arrange blood or stool tests. Tell them which antibiotics you have already taken. A label of 'typhoid' based only on symptoms should not lead to repeated antibiotic purchases without reassessment.
Protecting yourself and others
Use safe drinking water, wash hands with soap after the toilet and before preparing food, and eat food that is freshly cooked and served hot. Wash or peel fruit with safe water. Vaccination lowers risk but does not replace food and water precautions.
Finish the prescribed treatment and return if fever persists or comes back. Some people still carry and spread the bacteria after feeling well. Avoid preparing food for others while ill and ask when it is safe to return to food handling, school or work.
Sources
- Typhoid fever · Public sector health information · OGL v3.0
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.