Pathophysiology of typhoid fever?
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The pathophysiology of typhoid fever is complex and occurs through several stages.
Once, the bacteria(Salmonella typhi),survives the acidity of the stomach, it reaches the intestine and invades the Payer`s patches of the intestinal wall.Payer`s patches are the clusters of cell primarily composed of Macrophages are specialised cells that are essential to kill any bacteria.But, Salmonella Typhi is unaffected by these macrophages but, start survive within the macrophage itself.
So , during this asymptomatic incubation period of 7-14 days, the bacteria spread throughout the reticuloendothelial system of liver,spleen,gallbladder,and bone marrow.
The first week of symptomatic period is characterised by progressive elevation of temperature.
In the second week, the victim may experience abdominal pain, spleen enlargement and notice Rose spots on his skin.
The third week is more intense as the bacteria start causing necrosis of the Payer`s patches of the intestine which leads to perforation and bleeding.This is the terminal stage,if, left untreated, death is imminent.
That`s why,it is also called "enteric fever".Enteric which means, intestine.
Hope, it helps
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Typhoid fever, also known as enteric fever, is an illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. Common worldwide, it is transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces from an infected person. the bacteria then multiply in the blood stream of the infected person and are absorbed into the digestive tract and eliminated with the waste( human waste). To research this further:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoid_...
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