Disease-causing organisms can be categorized as prions, viruses, bacteria, protests, or fungi. This paper focuses on the organism which causes typhoid and how one can identify its symptoms and also how it can be treated and avoided. This paper explains the structure of this organism and how it’s transmitted from one person to another.
Typhoid is caused by a bacterium which is referred to as Salmonella enterica Typhi. This bacterium is aerobic and its shape resembles a pole. Additionally, the cell of the bacterium has an extended flagellum which is composed of protein and is used to enhance its mobility. This flagellum enables the bacterium to swim in the water and other liquids until it reaches its destination.
According to Murray, Rosenthal, and Pfaller (2009), Salmonella typhi causes typhoid fever in humans. This fever occurs when people eat food or drink water that has come into contact with the human waste of infected persons. This usually happens when people don’t wash their hands after visiting the toilet, hence when such persons handle food or drinks they cause the organisms of this bacterium to be present in the food or drink.
In addition, when food and drinks are left uncovered, insects that consume feces may land on the exposed food and water and then drop the organism which penetrates further and faster because of its flagellum. When the food or the drink is finally consumed and once the bacterium reaches the stomach it appends itself onto the wall of the intestines. The human body favors the development of this organism which causes it to multiply. That’s why people who are infected with this fever are not allowed to handle food in most hotels and food joints.
Typhoid infects people who usually reside in areas that have poor sanitation which causes water meant for human consumption to come into contact with sewerage contents. Due to extreme poverty levels, most people can not afford to treat their water before they drink it (Nicholson, 2008).
There are various symptoms that are observed while diagnosing the illness brought by Salmonella Typhi. The body temperature of the patient rises drastically which causes excessive sweating even when the patient is not doing anything. This symptom remains constant even when the climate is cold and sometimes it is vice versa. That is, the patient feels cold when the climate is hot and feels hot when the climate is cold.
The person suffering from typhoid usually experiences diarrhea quite often hence his/her body does not have enough water and if this diarrhea persists the person could become dehydrated, which makes him/her very weak. In fact, such a person cannot stand for long because they are not strong and depending on the intensity of infection, the patient needs to be carried around.
The patient also vomits a lot and reddish spots may be presented on the chest of the infected person. The best way to treat typhoid is to administer antibiotics like ampicillin, amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and ciprofloxacin. The dose can be administered orally or by injection. There are workable solutions which can be applied to prevent the above-stated illness. First and foremost people must wash their hands after visiting the toilet and also wash food items which are eaten while still raw such as fruits. Some people eat fruits without washing them which makes them prone to getting the organisms of typhoid into their bodies. This is because the fruits you buy from your local grocery have been handled by many people (Cooke, Wain, & Threlfall, 2006).
Drinks and food should remain safely covered to prevent flies that consume feces from landing on them. Drinking water should be treated by boiling because the organisms will not survive when the water has been heated. Alternatively, drinking water can be kept in the refrigerator because the organisms of this disease cannot survive under low temperatures. Some people prefer to put drinking water in plastic bottles and then expose them to sunlight to kill all bacterium that could be present. Additionally one should avoid eating at public gatherings because most people don’t exercise hygiene during such feasts.
References
Cooke FJ, Wain J, Threlfall EJ. (2006).”Fluoroquinine resistance in Salmonella typhi (letter).” Brit Med J. 333 (7563):353-4,
Murray P.R, Rosenthal, K.S, & Pfaller M.A. (2009). Medical Microbiology. 6th Ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier.
Nicolson, S. (2008).”Typhoid left city under Siege”. BBC News. Web.