Treatment and therapy | What is typhoid fever?

Treatment and therapy

The treatment of the bacterial infectious disease typhoid fever is carried out with the help of antibiotics. Nowadays, the antibiotic ciprofloxacin is the most common drug used to treat typhoid fever. Alternatively Ofloxacin can be given as it is a similar drug.

The antibiotic is taken for 7-10 days. Before starting the therapy a determination of any resistance of the Salmonella to antibiotics should be carried out. If such resistance is present, the given medication may not be effective, which delays the healing of the disease.

In this case, other antibiotics, such as Ceftriaxone, are available. Since Salmonella are bacteria that live inside the body cells, it usually takes a few days for the fever to subside under therapy. In about 5% of all people suffering from typhoid fever, the pathogens are permanently excreted via the stool after the symptoms have healed.

This is very dangerous, as it can infect other people in the vicinity. In the case of such so-called salmonella permanent excretors, antibiotics are prescribed over a longer period of time. This is an attempt to remove the more persistent pathogens that are still present from the body. Ciprofloxacin for 4 weeks or ceftriaxone for 2 weeks is usually recommended in such cases.

Vaccination

There is a vaccination against typhoid fever. This is not generally recommended in Germany, but is recommended for travel to risk areas. These include South East Asia, Central Africa, West Africa and South America.

Before a longer trip to these areas it is recommended to have a vaccination carried out. There are two types of vaccines against typhoid fever:

• The dead vaccine, which contains dead pathogen particles, can be injected intramuscularly, i.e. into the muscle. This vaccination can be administered from the age of 2 years and a single administration provides protection for up to 3 years.

  The vaccine has the trade name Typhim Vi® and is generally well tolerated. However, studies show that the inactivated vaccine is only effective in about 60% of all cases.

• The live vaccine has the trade name Typhoral-L®. It consists of a mixture of harmless living and inactivated Salmonella. It is taken in tablet form, i.e. orally.
• There is also a vaccination schedule, which in this case means that a total of 3 tablets are taken at intervals of 2 days. This vaccine can also be given from the age of 2 years, but has a similar effect as the inactivated vaccine.