Enteric Fever

What is Enteric Fever?

Enteric fever is a potentially life-threatening infection. It includes typhoid fever (caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi) and paratyphoid fever (caused by the bacterium Salmonella Paratyphi A, B and C). These bacteria only infect humans, and humans are the only reservoirs. Transmission of the infection is by the faecal-oral route (through ingesting food or water that has been contaminated with faeces of an infected person).

It is a disease of poverty because it is usually associated with a lack of clean drinking water and poor sanitation. The disease continues to be a public health problem in many lower- and middle-income countries in Africa, the Americas, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific regions.