Symptoms of Typhoid fever

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Typhoid can vary in severity from a mild upset lasting a week to a major illness lasting up to two months. The time between catching the disease and showing symptoms (incubation period) is normally 1-3 weeks.

The first symptoms of typhoid fever in adults are headache and fever. These are followed by loss of appetite, joint pain, sore throat, sweating and a general feeling of being unwell. The person will often experience soreness in the stomach area, a bloated feeling and constipation. Occasionally, symptoms also include coughing, nosebleeds and painful urination.

Children with typhoid fever often vomit and have diarrhoea. Typhoid rarely affects children under two years of age.

During the second stage of the disease, the fever continues and worsens if it is not treated. The pulse may become weak and the heartbeat may slow. The patient will feel extremely tired. Initial constipation may change to diarrhoea and the faeces may contain blood. The liver and spleen may enlarge, so that they can be felt on either side, just below the ribs. The abdomen (stomach) may feel tender and painful.

Around 10% of people will experience small, raised, red spots called rose spots, appearing on the front of the chest and upper abdomen. This usually lasts for 2-5 days (2).

In most treated cases, symptoms begin to decrease after three weeks and the personâ€™s temperature has usually returned to normal by the end of the fourth week. However, without treatment typhoid fever can be fatal, particular if patients develop stupor, coma or shock. 1 in 10 people die from typhoid if they do not receive treatment (3). Those most at most risk are elderly people, malnourished people or very young children.