Typhoid Fever

A swollen lymph node can trigger fears of cancer but it usually is just a sign of infection or illness in the body.

When the mesenteric lymph nodes are swollen it could be a symptom of typhoid fever, which can be contracted from consuming infected food or water that has been contaminated with feces of an infected person.

Once there is a diagnosis of Typhoid fever, it will be treated and the affected ones should return to normal. It is believed typhoid fever has been around since 430-424 BC. With modern day sanitation, it is not common to get this illness in developed countries, but undeveloped countries still have a problem with typhoid fever outbreaks, especially in children and teens between the ages of 5 and 19 years old.

Typhoid fever can be prevented when with a vaccine when a person is going to travel to an area that has a risk of it. It can be a serious infection if left untreated. The symptoms of typhoid fever include the following:

• Lack of appetite
• Stomach pains
• Headaches
• Flu-like symptoms
• Aches and pain
• High fever
• Fatigue and lethargy
• Intestinal problems including bleeding
• Congestion

Once diagnosed by a physician, treatment for typhoid fever will include antibiotics and possibly removal of the gallbladder. Dehydration and malnutrition can occur when a person has typhoid fever.

A third of the population of Athens died somewhere around 430-424 BC of a plague. Some believe it was typhoid fever. Since then there have been similar illness outbreaks mentioned in history, but it wasn’t until 1880 a bacillus that was thought to be responsible for typhoid fever was identified by Karl Joseph Eberth.

Currently the bacteria that is responsible for typhoid fever is known as Salmonella, enterica, serovar, and typhi. There are strains that have become resistant to some of the antibiotics that were used originally to treat typhoid fever, but there are many others that are effective.

The mesenteric lymph nodes are located in the membrane lining of the abdominal cavity. There are about 100-150 mesenteric lymph nodes. They assure the organs can move within the abdomen, they deliver oxygen and nutrients to the body, and are an important part to the immune system.

When these are inflamed it is called mesenteric lymphadenitis and there may be symptoms similar to an appendicitis attack. The cause of the swelling can be from bacterial, viral or parasitic infections. One of the bacterial infections that cause mesenteric node swelling is typhoid fever.

Typhoid fever is a serious bacterial infection that can cause inflammation of the mesenteric lymph nodes. It is treatable with antibiotics and preventable with good sanitation.