Pathogen (Salmonella typhi)
Category of Pathogen- bacteria
Name of disease caused by the pathogen- Typhoid fever
Symptoms of infection- fever (104°F), profuse sweating, gastroenteritis, non bloody diarrhea, rash of flat rose colored spots may appear
Primary host(s) humans
Other host(s)- N/A
Route of Transmission- human to human. When human feces or urine comes into contact with food or drinking water
R0: could not find
Prevalence: Typhoid fever is very rare in the United States, though it is usually acquired while traveling internationally. It is common in third world countries, where it affects 12.5 million persons each year. There are 400 cases per year in the United States, mostly among travelers. An estimated 21 million cases of typhoid fever and 200,000 deaths occur worldwide.
Generation Time: the duration of the disease is one month. The symptoms will usually begin 7-21 days, but can take 5 to 6 weeks to appear
Mortality Rate: it is under one percent, but if medical help is not obtained then, mortality rate increases from 12-30 %.
Morbidity Rate: the morbidity rate is 47%
Is it preventable? How? Yes the disease is preventable, through vaccines and through advances in public sanitation and hygiene. The vaccine can last up to seven years.
Does the disease trigger long lasting immunity? Yes, 5% of people that contract typhoid continue to carry the disease, even after they show no more symptoms
When was the pathogen first described and is there evidence that it was around much earlier than that? The name of the pathogen was given in 1829 by Louis. The pathogen was first described in 430-426 B.C., where it killed 1/3 of the population of Athens, Greece.
What is the economic impact of the disease? The economic impact is mainly seen through medical expenses that have to be paid. Those can range from 2500-4500 dollars.
The coolest thing about the disease? I think it is the fact that the bacteria can still be in the body, even if the person shows no symptoms. Those people have to be extra careful with food handling, since they may shed and contaminate food and water. The most known person with this disease was Typhoid Mary, who infected 53 people, and was thought to be born with the disease, since her mother had typhoid fever during her pregnancy.
Citations for the information included?
- Pollack V. David “Salmonella enteric typhi” . 28 Aug 2009
<http://web.uconn.edu/…Salmonellatyphi.html>.
2. Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Typhoid Mary.” about.com. 25 August 2009.
<http://www.heartpunchstudio.com/pages/Recent%20.html>.
3.“Typhoid fever”. Aug 20 2009.
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/typhoidfever_htm>.
4. “ Typhoid Fever” 21 August 2009.
<http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid_fever>.
5. “Morality Rates of Typhoid Fever”. 25 August 2009.
<http://diseases.emedtv.com/typhoid-fever/mortality-rate-of-typhoid-fever.html>.
6. Map of countries affected. 26 August 2009.
<http://www. sprojects.mmi.mcgill.ca/…/typhoid/geo.htm>.
7. Picture of Mary Mallon. 26 August 2009.
< http:www.wrongdiagnosis.com/artic/typhoid_fever_general_dbmd.htm>.
