AS man learns how to keep himself clean, and knowledge of health spreads through the world, some of our worst diseases are gradually being eliminated. One of these is typhoid fever
Just 60 years ago, many thousands of people were dying from typhoid fever every year. Now, deaths are only a fraction of what they were, and are mostly in remote areas.
Typhoid fever is caused by a bacillus called salmonella Typhosa. It lives in human waste. After it leaves the body, the bacilli can continue to exist, but they do not multiply
Some people who have had the disease can be cured but continue to be typhoid carriers. This means their body still contains the bacilli that cause the disease, even though they themselves are now healthy. This is because one attack of typhoid fever usually makes the infected person immune for life.