37 replies to this topic

[simpsca]

I think doctors don't order enough tests here when as someone said above - you feel down for a long time. I have IBS, formerly called colitis and felt terrible for two months and saw many doctors and a GI specialist who treated me for colitis - which didn't work. I eventually got dizzy and could hardly push a shopping cart. One new doctor finally ordered a stool culture and I had shigella which is in the e coli family and one of the worst bugs. Probably had it for two months before it was discovered and if I hadn't gone to a new doctor who knows. Some people have immune systems that can fight off a lot of the bugs in our area - others do not. Another bug that can make you feel terrible is one of the many varities of Dengue and I know a few people who have had that. We seem to have more mosquitoes this year due to a warmer winter than usual.

[traderspoc]

I agreed many people do not take salmonella poisonong seriuosly unless they had it once.

i know several people who had it the last three years.

some rules to follow.:

• Wash your hands. Frequent hand washing is the best way to control infection. Wash your hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water, especially before eating or preparing food and after using the toilet. Carry an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for times when water isn't available.
  
• Avoid drinking untreated water. Contaminated drinking water is a particular problem in areas where typhoid is endemic. For that reason, drink only bottled water or canned or bottled carbonated beverages, wine and beer. Carbonated bottled water is safer than uncarbonated bottled water is. Wipe the outside of all bottles and cans before you open them. Ask for drinks without ice. Use bottled water to brush your teeth, and try not to swallow water in the shower.
  
• Avoid raw fruits and vegetables. Because raw produce may have been washed in unsafe water, avoid fruits and vegetables that you can't peel, especially lettuce. To be absolutely safe, you may want to avoid raw foods entirely.
  
• Choose hot foods. Avoid food that's stored or served at room temperature. Steaming hot foods are best. And although there's no guarantee that meals served at the finest restaurants are safe, it's best to avoid food from street vendors — it's more likely to be contaminated. ( street vendors do not always have good access to bathrooms, where the sinks have soap to wash there hands)

Video on salmonella poisoning
http://www.howcast.c...nella-Poisoning

[virgogirl]

Can someone summarize the general symptoms of typhoid from their experience? Thanks.

[PULELEHUA]

From my experience as an public health epidemiologist and citing the epidemiology go-to source (CDC):
Typhoid fever has an insidious onset characterized by fever, headache, constipation, malaise, chills, and myalgia with few clinical features that reliably distinguish it from a variety of other infectious diseases. Diarrhea is uncommon, and vomiting is not usually severe. Confusion, delirium, intestinal perforation, and death may occur in severe cases. The etiologic agent may be recovered from the bloodstream or bone marrow, and occasionally from the stool or urine. Persons with typhoid fever usually have a sustained fever as high as 103° to 104° F (39° to 40° C). They may also feel weak, or have stomach pains, headache, or loss of appetite. In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots. The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever is to have samples of stool or blood tested for the presence of Salmonella Typhi.

Without therapy, the illness may last for 3 to 4 weeks.

Salmonella typhi (typhoid fever) is not the same disease as Salmonella Infection (aka Samonellosis) which produces watery or bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and malaise.

For an amazing array of organisms capable of producing intestinal symptoms, see: www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm103263.htm
For infectious disease information geared to the general public as well as offering more technical information to the health professional, see www.cdc.gov.

Hope this helps, Virgogirl.

[bmh]

When my husband had typhoid he was shaking so hard from the fever that he could not speak. His teeth were like castagnets claping away..It was a pretty scary experience.

[Malaya]

Both tests came back positive for typhoid. Add another two people to the list.

[Chippy]

How does one contract Typhoid? any ideas where these cases originated?

[virgogirl]

Chippy:
Check out the website above given by PULEHUA. it is the fda thing. insightful.

[simpsca]

It can be from drinking un-pure water and the most common way (according to local doctors) is from restaurants where an infected employee does not wash their hands prior to handling food. That is why there are many signs in bathrooms to "wash your hands". But no one polices what food handlers actually do in the bathroom. All they can do is provide soap and water.

A few months ago I got shigella - which is similar to e coli only nastier. I asked the doctor where I got it and he said probably from a restaurant.

[PULELEHUA]

CDC.GOV: "Salmonella Typhi lives only in humans. Persons with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract. In addition, a small number of persons, called carriers, recover from typhoid fever but continue to carry the bacteria. Both ill persons and carriers shed SalmonellaTyphi in their feces (stool). You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding Salmonella Typhi or if sewage contaminated with Salmonella Typhi bacteria gets into the water you use for drinking or washing food. Therefore, typhoid fever is more common in areas of the world where handwashing is less frequent and water is likely to be contaminated with sewage. Once Salmonella Typhi bacteria are eaten or drunk, they multiply and spread into the bloodstream. The body reacts with fever and other signs and symptoms."

If there are indeed several cases of Salmonella Typhi infections here, the affected persons need to get together and interview themselves as to the precise language of the lab results, any common sources of food, water, travel, & activities (thermal waters, etc.). Complicating the matter, the incubation period (between ingestion of the organism and the onset of symptoms) can be anywhere from 3 days to 2 months, depending on how much of the organism was acquired and the resistance of the new host. The most common incubation period is 8-14 days and epidemiology interviews typically focus on the 1-2 weeks prior to onset of symptoms. Helpful also is to determine if any of the infected persons were vaccinated w/i the last five years. Attention should be given to the specific language of lab work because salmonella typhi is not the same as salmonella typhimurium or salmonella paratyphi.

Because S. Typhi is transmitted via the fecal-oral route, either directly from person to person or by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces (and possibly urine), consideration must be given to shellfish harvested from sewage-contaminated water as well as fruits and vegetables grown in soil fertilized with human waste. Transmission can also occur from person to person through certain types of sexual contact (e.g., oral-anal contact) .
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[virgogirl]

There have been times when my friends have made fun of me for disinfecting my fruits and veggies. Laugh all you want friends, I continue to disinfect all of them even if they clean and from a decent source. Since reading about the restaurant link, I am even more motivated to eat most of my meals at home, self-prepared.

[Ferret]

Just wanted to add a couple of things which are confirmable by googling.
The Bacillus cereus, according to the chart posted by Pulelehua, can be found in "Meats, stews, gravies, vanilla sauce". I want to warn everyone that it is also the bacteria that causes a problem found in RICE that has been cooked and then improperly stored or improperly reheated.
Also, people who are "carriers" of certain kinds of bacteria often (but not necessarily) "carry" them in their gall bladders.

[tomgates]

You can get Typhoid shots (along with other immunizations) at LCS a couple times a month. Check their calender for next dates. We got ours this past Wed. It is $450p for Typhoid.

[Chippy]

You can get Typhoid shots (along with other immunizations) at LCS a couple times a month. Check their calender for next dates. We got ours this past Wed. It is $450p for Typhoid.

So, it's about $37 USD for a typhoid shot? Seems expensive. What do the seasonal flu shots cost?

[tomgates]

Flu vaccine is the US is about $30. The last typhoid shot in 2007 was almost $70 plus the office visit. $37 here is a bargain.

[Chippy]

Flu vaccine is the US is about $30. The last typhoid shot in 2007 was almost $70 plus the office visit. $37 here is a bargain.

Good info. How often is the typhoid vaccine being recommended for folks living in Mex?

[tomgates]

The package insert says two years.