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Typhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that can develop after a person eats or drinks contaminated food, milk, or water. Outbreaks of typhoid fever sometimes occur after natural disasters (such as fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes) when drinking water becomes contaminated with sewage.

Symptoms of typhoid fever include fever, chills, cough, red rash on the abdomen, watery diarrhea, a slow heart rate, and low blood pressure.

Typhoid fever can be treated with antibiotics and rehydration. If it is not treated, serious complications may develop, sometimes leading to death.

Last Revised: March 30, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & W. David Colby IV, MSc, MD, FRCPC - Infectious Disease

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