The Sensibility Pattern of Different Antibiotics Used in the Treatment of Typhoid Fever in Hospitalized Children

Abstract

Typhoid fever is caused by the gram-negative bacteria called Salmonella typhi. It is transmitted by ing~sting food or drinks contaminated by the feces or urine of infected people. Symptoms develop after 1 - 3 weeks. Around 10% of people infected can ex~rete the'. vims for the lip to 1 month. Nf'.arly half become permanent carriers and are capable of infecting other people. Complications that may occur are intestinal perforations, hemorrhages, and ulcers. Typhoid fever is common in endemic areas such as Asia, Africa and South America. It is however rare in the developed countries especially in North American countries and Europe. Bangladesh happens to be one of the endemic regions due to its poor sanitary and sewage systems. It can be diagnosed by certain blood, bone marrow, and/or stool tests that look for the bacteria. Widal tests are the specific tests for typhoid. But very often physicians diagnose by clinical examination. Typhoid fever is treated by antibiotics. Chloramphenicol was the drug of choice earlier. Other drugs successfully used were ampicillin and eotrimoxazole. But recently t.heSt: drugs have become resistant. This is k.nown as multi-drug resistance. Currently other antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and cephalosporins e.g. ceftriaxone are being used successfully. It is believed that typhoid fever can be eradicated by pl'Oper and hygienic water and sanitary facilities. Vaccination is another good option for inoculating the current masses. Some of the vaccines are Vi Polysaccharide vaccine (composed of purified polysaccharide from S. Typhi capsule), a live attenuated strain of S. typhi, and inactivated whole cell vaccine.