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Cause:
Bacterium Salmonella Typhi.
Illness and treatment:
Symptoms include fever, headache, rash, constipation or diarrhea, and lymph node swelling.
Severity ranges from mild febrile illness to severe disease with multiple complications.
Treatment is with antibiotics.
Sources:
Humans are the reservoir and transmit through fecal contamination of food, water or milk,
or directly person-to-person.
Additional risks:
There can be a prolonged intestinal carrier state, sometimes due to gallbladder infection;
re-culture patients after antibiotic treatment to confirm clearance of the infection.
Prevention:
If traveling to risk areas, consult with a travel clinic or the CDC Travelers’ Health
website for recommendations about vaccination and other measures.
Recent Washington trends:
Cases occur mainly after international travel, most commonly to Asia. Case counts are variable, ranging from 5 to 22
reports each year.
2010:
22 cases were reported; 17 reported international travel, and 5 had exposures in western
Washington including work in a microbiology laboratory, person-to-person transmission from
an acute or chronic case, or multiple exposures. One case had no source of exposure determined.
Purpose of Reporting and Surveillance
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To determine if there is a source of infection of public health concern (e.g., a food handler or
commercially distributed food product) and to stop transmission from such a source
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To assess the risk of the case transmitting infection to others, and to prevent such transmission
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To identify other undiagnosed cases
Legal Reporting Requirements
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Health care providers:
notifiable to local health jurisdiction within 24 hours
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Health care facilities:
notifiable to local health jurisdiction within 24 hours
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Laboratories:
Salmonella species notifiable to local health jurisdiction within 24 hours;
specimen submission required – culture (2 business days)
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Local health jurisdiction:
notifiable to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Communicable Disease Epidemiology (CDE)
within 7 days of case investigation completion or summary information required within 21 days
Last update
December 2011 |
