Burden of Enteric fever at tertiary level hospital of western Rajasthan: A descriptive analysis
Abstract
Enteric fever is a public health problem in developing world like India. So this descriptive study was conducted on confirmed enteric fever cases attended at Medicine department of SMS Medical College, Jaipur (Rajasthan) India. Majority of patients were above 60 years of age followed by 15 to 30 years, 45 to 60 years and 30 to 45 years of age. Male female ratio was observed 1.32. Sex wise proportion of enteric fever cases had significant variation with age. In younger and older age group males were higher than females whereas in middle age group females were more than males. It present throughout the year but majority (73.64%) were found in November to April. Salmonela Typhi was resistance to Ampicillin and Co-trimaxazole and sensitive to Cefixime.
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Introduction
Enteric fever, also known as typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease caused by the ingestion of contaminated food or water which contain the bacterium Salmonella Typhi.
Typhoid fever remains an important public health problem in developing countries with majority of population living under conditions of limited resources and constrained sanitation infrastructure. A recent study on longitudinal analysis of typhoid fever in Asian countries has estimated that there are 12– 20 million cases and 13000–220,000 deaths each year in Asia.1
India has an annual incidence of 493.5/100,000 persons per years with 340.1/100,000 cases per years occurring in children of 2–5 years.2 In a recent systematic review, the pooled estimates of annual incidences of enteric fever in India were 377 (178–801) cases in 100,000 person per year.3
Symptoms usually develop one to two weeks after exposure and it may be mild to severe. Symptoms include high fever, malaise, headache, constipation or diarrhoea, rose-colored spots on the chest, and enlarged spleen and liver may be there. Healthy carrier state may follow acute illness. Typhoid fever can be treated with antibiotics.
In view of such a problem of emerging antimicrobial resistance, prevention of disease becomes a priority in public health. Some of the major issues responsible for incomplete information on the actual burden of typhoid fever in India are the uneven disease distribution of this infection in different geographical areas. So this study was conducted to assess the burden of enteric fever in a tertiary care hospital of western Rajasthan.
Conclusion
The present study concluded that majority of patients were above 60 years of age followed by 15 to 30 years, 45 to 60 years and 30 to 45 years of age. Male female ratio was observed 1.32. Sex wise proportion of enteric fever cases had significant variation with age.