Medical Microbiology & Diagnosis

Distribution of Community Acquired Typhoid Fever among Febrile Patients Attending Clinics in Bushenyi, Uganda: Case Study of the Year 2005

Abstract

Ezera Agwu

Background/Objective : Febrile illnesses have continued to escalate in South-Western Uganda despite using many multidisciplinary studies and interventions (weakened by poor resources) to control the syndrome. To appraise the burden of typhoid in regional febrile illnesses, this laboratory based retrospective analytical study was undertaken to outline the distribution of community acquired typhoid fever among febrile patients attending clinics in Bushenyi, Uganda.

Methods: After ethical approval and with standard methods, six hundred and eighty seven data-files (311 from males and 376 from females) of recruited febrile, typhoid positive hospital attendees in Bushenyi were analyzed with particular attention to socio-demographic impact on typhoid distribution.

Results: From the age bracket 10-19 years, males, with 36.6% typhoid, attending Bushenyi Medical center and females, with 33.8% typhoid attending Comboni hospital had the highest typhoid distribution in this survey. Other results include males: 10-19years and above 60 years old from Comboni hospital with 28.6% and 22.2% typhoid distribution, including 24.6% typhoid distribution shown among males 20-29years old attending Ishaka Adventist Hospital. However, females above 60years and 10-19 years old attending Bushenyi medical center had 32.8% and 25% typhoid distribution respectively; including 24.7% typhoid among females aged 20-29years old, attending Comboni hospital. Typhoid: was highest in the low-income class, lowest in the high-income class and uniformly distributed from January to December.

Conclusions: Typhoid is highly (36.6%) prevalent among febrile patients aged (10-29 years old) attending clinics in Bushenyi and spread depends on age, sex, socio-economic status and season. The strategic impact of typhoid on the teenage and early adulthood aged- 10-29 years is noteworthy. Hygiene education and monitoring of the street-food trade are recommended typhoid control measure.