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.
Description:
This thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) in East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.