NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Officials in North Cotabato, in the Soccsksargen region in Mindanao are reporting an outbreak of typhoid fever in the village of Manaulanan. Health authorities say at least 30 persons have been hospitalized with the infection. No deaths have been reported.

Salmonella serotype Typhi
Typhoid image/CDC

The outbreak is linked to contaminated drinking water. Manaulanan is a remote village with no potable drinking water.

“Many of the patients were children who are now in various hospitals in Pikit,” Rabaya said, adding that members of the IPHO sent to the village have brought with them medicine and water purification tablets to help prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.

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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 S.typhi in their feces.

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You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding S. typhi or if sewage contaminated with S. 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.

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