What are the common transmission routes of enteric fever

Enteric fever is actually what we call typhoid fever, and this disease is contagious to a certain extent. Therefore, if you want to effectively reduce the harm it causes, you should understand the route of transmission, because contaminated water, food or contact in daily life may cause infection with these bacteria.

1. Source of infection

For patients and carriers. Patients can excrete bacteria in their feces from the incubation period, and in their urine from the first weekend of the disease. Therefore, patients are contagious throughout the course of the disease, especially within the first 2 to 4 weeks of the disease, when they are most contagious. Chronic carriers are the main source of infection for the continued spread or epidemic of the disease. Typhoid patients with existing chronic hepatobiliary diseases (such as cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, etc.) are prone to become chronic carriers. About 1% to 4% of patients hide typhoid bacilli in the intestines and gallbladder for months or years.

2. Transmission channels

After being excreted in the feces and urine of patients or carriers, typhoid bacteria are spread through contaminated water or food, daily life contact, flies and cockroaches, etc. Among them, water pollution is an important way of transmission of the disease and is also the main cause of the outbreak. Food contamination can also cause the epidemic of this disease, while sporadic cases are generally transmitted through daily life contact.

3. Population Susceptibility

People are generally susceptible to typhoid fever. After the disease, people can acquire lasting immunity, and it is very rare for them to get sick again.

IV. Epidemic Characteristics

The disease occurs all over the world, and is more common in tropical and subtropical regions. It may occur sporadically, endemically, or in epidemic forms. In developing countries, outbreaks are mainly caused by water pollution, while in developed countries, infections are mainly caused by international travel. This disease can be seen throughout the year, but is most common in summer and autumn. The majority of them are children and young adults. The number of drug-resistant strains of typhoid fever prevalent in local areas has increased, and the spectrum of drug resistance is gradually expanding. In addition to resistance to chloramphenicol, co-sulfamethoxazole and ampicillin, a few strains are also resistant to cephalosporins and quinolone antibiotics.