My family was in the Philippines for 21 days. After coming back to Canada, our son got a fever and had a bit of diarrhea. Also nauseous and shivering sometimes. I just gave him advil for his fever, thinking that there is nothing serious. But after 3 days of fever, I decided to bring him to the doctor.
Doctors saw nothing on his body and his blood, they they don’t yet whats causing the fever. Doctors sent us home and we waited for another day for the result of blood culture.
Almost midnight the following day, the doctor called us and they found out that there was bacteria on his blood. Told us to go to emergency right away.
At the hospital, doctors did more blood test and check for malaria. They asked lots of question regarding our travel to the Philippines.
My son got confined in the hospital for almost 4 days. They found out that the bacteria was salmonella that caused typhoid fever.
I was so impressed with the helped we’ve got from all the nurses and doctors at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
I’ve learned more about salmonella now from my son’s experience.
SALMONELLA
Salmonella are a group of bacteria that cause a wide spectrum of diseases. They are able to cause significant morbidity, and in some case, mortality, in both humans and animals.
Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Typhi are the two type of Salmonella Enterica that are closely related. However, there are distinct differences in the type and severity of infectious disease they both cause.
Most people are infected with salmonella by eating foods that have been contaminated by feces. Commonly infected foods include: Raw meat, poultry and seafood. Feces may get onto raw meat and poultry during the butchering process.
Sometimes people feel sick on their stomach and have diarrhea and get infected with salmonella. Some people get better on their own within 4-7 days.
My son got the salmonella that causes typhoid fever. This type of bacteria is most common in developing countries where hygiene is poor and the water can be contaminated with sewage.
The symptoms of typhoid fever include fever, weakness, stomach pains, headache or loss of appetite. My son was nauseous and had diarrhea and show no interest on doing anything.
Without immediate treatment, Salmonella infection can lead to liver damage, inflammation of the heart, holes in the gut, and internal bleeding.
Good thing that salmonella can be treated with antibiotics. Though researchers believe that bacteria have increasing resistance to the various types of antibiotic.
Thanks to all the doctors and nurses for treating my son, He took antibiotic for 4 days in the hospital and was sent home to take antibiotics for 6 more days.
Doctor’s advised us that next time we travel back home, we should get vaccinated. Typhoid immunization is recommended to people travelling to countries were typhoid is very common.
We have to be very careful on what we eat and drink when travelling. Or even any where we go, may it be at home or when we travel. The best prevention is to always watching your hands.
Now, we thanked the Lord our son is better and getting back to normal.
