Food supply typhoid fever

Typhoid Fever 1. Sabotage (food/ water supply) 2. Aerosol Negligible Moderate 7-21 days Several weeks Moderate if untreated Yes Moderately effective No... 

The standard bacteriological method forjudging the suitability of water for domestic use is the coliform test. It detects the presence of coliform bacteria, which are found in the natural environment (soils and plants) and in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals. Any food or water sample in which this group of bacteria is found is to be suspected of having come into contact with domestic sewage or animal manure. Such a water supply may contain pathogenic bacteria and viruses responsible for typhoid fever, dysentery, and hepatitis (Shelton, 1989). 

Salmonella typhi is a human pathogen. The mode of transmission is by contamination of water by fecal excretion, but it is also transmitted from person to person by hands and contact with infected patients. Food handlers who carry Salmonella typhi pose an increased risk of transmission of infection. Salmonella typhi are excreted in the stool of chronic carriers who may be asymptomatic as well as in the stool and urine in patients with active disease. Outbreaks of typhoid fever are associated with inadequate sanitary infrastructures in developing countries due to inadequate measures of hygiene. Contamination of water in the community is the main source of infection in endemic areas. In developed countries the main source of contamination is by food supplies infected by carriers. Flies and lack of adequate standards of proper disposal of waste may also account for the spread of infection. 

Salmonella paratyphi is a bacterial enteric (intestinal) infection with an abrupt outbreak, which produces the following symptoms continued fever, headache, malaise, enlarged spleen, rose spots on the trunk of the body, and diarrhea. These symptoms are similar to those of typhoid fever, but the death rate is much lower. Mild and asymptomatic infections may also occur upon exposure. Outbreaks and locations are similar to those of the other salmonella bacteria. The infectious dose is 1000 organisms by ingestion. Transmission occurs by direct or indirect contact with feces or, in rare cases, urine of patients or carriers. It is spread by food, especially miUc and dairy products, shellfish, and in some isolated cases, water supplies. Incubation depends on the strength of the dose, but usually 1-3 weeks for enteric fever and 1-10 days for gastroenteritis. Antibiotic treatment with chloramphenicol, ampicillin, or TMP-SMX is usually effective. 

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