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On average, four cases of internationally acquired typhoid fever are reported annually in Ottawa. The acquisition of local illness is “unexpected”.
The Ottawa Public Health Department is urging medical professionals to monitor patients with typhoid fever after receiving reports of suspected local cases.
Typhoid fever is a serious bacterial infection caused by a type of Salmonella. This is not common in Canada and is often associated with travel to countries that do not have proper water and sewage treatment. That’s why the OPH memos sent to doctors and nurses this week are so rare.
Ottawa Public Health reports that five cases of typhoid fever were reported in Ottawa between October 2018 and February 2022. This seems to have occurred locally, which is very rare in Canada.
Dr. Monil Taha, Deputy Director of Health, specializes in medical care to consider typhoid fever when diagnosing patients with symptoms such as fever, headache, malaise, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation, even if they are not traveling to endemic countries. I urged my house.
Taha said in his statement that the five cases reported to OPH between October 2018 and February 2022 share common features, including similar whole gene sequencing. .. Public health monitors the situation to see if there is a common source of infection.
All five have recovered
In a statement, Mr Taha said the incident did not raise any vigilance or concern among the general public.
“The risk of typhoid fever in the community is very low because typhoid fever is not endemic in the area and cases in the area are generally rare,” the statement said.
The Infectious Diseases Program and the Ottawa Public Health Epidemiology Group continuously monitor local infectious disease trends. This includes monitoring all cases of typhoid fever, including extensive searches to identify potential sources of infection.
Typhoid fever is caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhoid fever, which infects the intestinal tract and blood. It is usually spread by ingestion of contaminated food or water, or by direct contact.
Proper hand hygiene and safe dietary preparation can help prevent illnesses such as typhoid fever. Immunization before traveling to endemic areas can also prevent the spread, Taha said.
On average, four cases of internationally acquired typhoid fever are reported annually in Ottawa. The on-site infection was “unexpected,” Taha said.
“In countries with modern water and sewage treatment systems, typhoid fever is well controlled and there is room to respond only to individual abnormal infection conditions.”
In 2020, when the pandemic stopped most international travel, 50 cases of typhoid fever were reported in Ontario. A year ago, 122 cases were reported in the state.
