TYPHOID FEVER: PATHOGENESIS, EPIDEMIOLOGY AND LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS

Typhoid fever is a multisystem illness caused primarily by the typhoidal Salmonella serovars which are endemic in certain regions of the world. Despite the scope of work done so far, little is known about the biology of this pathogen and the complexity of the disease in endemic areas, especially those in Africa and Asia. The dissemination of multiple drug resistant strains makes the effective treatment hard to achieve. The non-specific manifestation of typhoid fever makes the disease a true diagnostic challenge and survivors may be left with long term complications. A wide range of diagnostic techniques have been developed and marketed worldwide to aid the proper identification of the causative agent including culturing techniques, serological and molecular methods with varying levels of sensitivity and specificity. More efforts are needed in endemic areas to allow surveillance and to implement control measures as well as development of more precise diagnostic tools to contain the illness.