Report within 24 hours of Diagnosis to the Local Health Department.
Typhoid fever is a disease caused by bacteria that usually affects the intestines, but can also infect the blood. This disease is not common in the United States, but it is still common in other parts of the world that have poor water treatment and sewer systems. Typhoid fever is spread when people swallow water or food that was contaminated with infected stool or sewage. The bacteria pass out of the body in stool. The bacteria can spread if an infected person does not wash their hands properly after using the toilet and then touches food or objects that may be placed in another person’s mouth.