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Disease information

Virus or bacteria

Typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella typhi, a bacterium that infects the intestines.

How it spreads

Food or water that is contaminated with the feces of an infected person.

Typhoid spreads through contaminated food or water. It does not spread from person to person.

Symptoms

• Fever that can last up to a week (or longer without medical care)
• Headache
• Nausea, stomach pain
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Rash

Typical disease timeline

Typhoid typically lasts 7 to 14 days; however, if left untreated, it can last up to a month.

Possible complications

• Delirium or coma
• Internal bleeding (intestine)
• Death

Other things to know

• Typhoid is common in areas of the world where water is contaminated with sewage.
• Typhoid infects about 21 million people each year, and up to 3 of every 10 infected people die from the disease.
• Some people who recover from typhoid fever will still be carriers and can spread the bacteria.

Vaccine information

The typhoid vaccine is used to prevent typhoid fever.

Vaccine type

• Live, “weakened” vaccines
• Polysaccharide vaccines

Oral (live, "weakened") vaccine side effects

Common

• Headache (5 of 100 recipients)
• Fever (5 of 100 recipients)

Rare

• Stomach pain, nausea (50 of 10,000 recipients)
• Rash (33 of 10,000 recipients)
• Vomiting (33 of 10,000 recipients)

Very rare

• Serious allergic reaction (fewer than 1 of 1,000,000 recipients)

Shot (polysaccharide) vaccine side effects

Common

• Headache (3 of 100 recipients)
• Fever (1 of 100 recipients)
• Redness or swelling at the injection site (7 of 100 recipients)

Rare

• None

Very rare

• Serious allergic reaction (fewer than 1 of 1,000,000 recipients)

Other things to know

• Typhoid fever can be treated with antibiotics, but increases in antibiotic resistance have made treatment more complicated.
• Even if vaccinated, travelers should still be cautious about what they eat or drink. Follow the rule, “Boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it.”
• This vaccine is not routinely recommended in the U.S. but may be recommended for travel.
• Please consult with a travel medicine expert before traveling.

Reasons the get the typhoid vaccine

• Typhoid can cause high fever, stomach pain, and rash and can lead to shock or death.
• The typhoid vaccine is safe.