For health professionals: Typhoid fever
Get detailed information on typhoid fever for health professionals.
On this page
- What health professionals need to know about typhoid fever
- Clinical manifestations
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Surveillance
- For more information
What health professionals need to know about typhoid fever
Typhoid fever is caused by the Salmonella enterica bacteria, subspecies enterica, serovar typhi.
Exposure to the causative pathogen is usually through ingesting water or food that has been contaminated by feces or urine from:
- an ill individual
- a chronic carrier
Typhoid fever is a nationally notifiable disease in all provinces and territories.
Cases are reported to:
- provincial or territorial departments of health
- the federal government, if they meet the national case definition
Clinical manifestations
Typhoid fever is a systemic illness of varying severity. The clinical course ranges from mild illness with low-grade fever to severe systemic disease with abdominal perforation and extra-intestinal infection.
Diagnosis
Monitor for the listed clinical manifestations and confirm diagnosis by:
- isolation from stool, urine or blood
- serotyping to identify the serovar typhi
Treatment
Treatment depends on the clinical symptoms presented by the patient, but may include:
- fluid and electrolyte replacement
- pharmacologic control of nausea and vomiting
- antibiotics (for both carriers and those with symptoms)
Surveillance
Health professionals in Canada play a critical role in identifying and reporting cases of typhoid fever. See the surveillance section for more information on surveillance in Canada.