Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract and occasionally the bloodstream. Most of the cases are acquired during foreign travel to underdeveloped countries. The germ that causes typhoid is a unique human strain of salmonella called Salmonella typhi.
Outbreaks are rare.
Anyone can get typhoid fever but the greatest risk exists to travelers visiting countries where the disease is common. Occasionally, local cases can be traced to exposure to a person who is a chronic carrier. Typhoid germs are passed in the feces and, to some extent, the urine of infected people. The germs are spread by eating or drinking water or foods contaminated by feces from the infected individual. Symptoms may be mild or severe and may include fever, headache, constipation or diarrhea, rose-colored spots on the trunk and an enlarged spleen and liver.