What is typhoid fever?
Typhoid fever is a serious disease spread by contaminated food and water. Symptoms of typhoid include lasting high fevers, weakness, stomach pains, headache, and loss of appetite. Some patients have constipation, and some have a rash. Internal bleeding and death can occur but are rare.
Who is at risk?
Typhoid fever is common in most parts of the world except in industrialized regions such as the United States, Canada, western Europe, Australia, and Japan, so travelers to the developing world should consider taking precautions. Travelers to Asia, Africa, and Latin America are especially at risk, and the highest risk for typhoid is in south Asia.
About 300 people get typhoid fever in the United States each year, and most of these people have recently traveled. About 22 million cases of typhoid fever and 200,000 related deaths occur worldwide each year.