Background

Condition Lookup

Sub-Category:

Enteric Infections

Number of Conditions: 2

Typhoid Fever

Specialty: Infectious Diseases

Category: Bacterial Infections

Sub-category: Enteric Infections

Symptoms:
high fever; abdominal pain; diarrhea or constipation; headache; rash (rose spots); fatigue

Root Cause:
Caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, transmitted via contaminated food or water; bacteria invade intestinal lining and bloodstream.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Blood, stool, or urine cultures; Widal test; PCR testing.

Treatment:
Antibiotics like ceftriaxone, azithromycin, or ciprofloxacin; hydration therapy.

Medications:
Ceftriaxone (third-generation cephalosporin, bactericidal); azithromycin (macrolide antibiotic); ciprofloxacin (fluoroquinolone class).

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Endemic in regions with poor sanitation, especially South Asia, with millions of cases annually.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Ingesting contaminated food or water, poor sanitation, traveling to endemic areas.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Good with prompt antibiotic treatment; untreated cases have high mortality rates.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Intestinal perforation, sepsis, or chronic carrier state.

Yersinia Enterocolitica Infection

Specialty: Infectious Diseases

Category: Bacterial Infections

Sub-category: Enteric Infections

Symptoms:
diarrhea (sometimes bloody); abdominal pain mimicking appendicitis; fever; joint pain (reactive arthritis in some cases)

Root Cause:
Caused by Yersinia enterocolitica, often from contaminated pork, water, or dairy products.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Stool culture, PCR, or serology.

Treatment:
Supportive care; antibiotics like ciprofloxacin or doxycycline for severe cases.

Medications:
Ciprofloxacin (fluoroquinolone class); doxycycline (tetracycline class); TMP-SMX (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, combination antibiotic).

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common in temperate climates, particularly among children; outbreaks are sporadic.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Consuming undercooked pork, contact with infected animals, poor hygiene.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Good with treatment; self-limiting in most cases.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Reactive arthritis, erythema nodosum, or septicemia in immunocompromised individuals.