What Are the Symptoms of Typhoid Fever?

Typhoid fever is a gastrointestinal infectious disease caused by Salmonella typhi infection. The classic course of typhoid fever can be divided into four stages:

I. Initial stage: Corresponding to the first week of illness, patients may exhibit systemic toxic symptoms such as fever, malaise, anorexia, cough, and sore throat. During this stage, the condition progressively worsens.

II. Peak stage: Corresponding to weeks 2–3 of illness, patients commonly display classic manifestations of typhoid fever, including persistent high fever, right lower quadrant abdominal pain, constipation, abdominal distension, relative bradycardia, apathy, rose spots, hepatosplenomegaly, and leukopenia.

III. Defervescence stage: Typically occurring during the fourth week of illness, body temperature begins to decline in a fluctuating manner, general condition improves, and symptoms gradually resolve.

IV. Convalescent stage: Beginning at the end of the fourth week, body temperature gradually returns to normal and appetite improves. Complete recovery usually occurs within approximately one month.

Expert Advice

Typhoid fever is a gastrointestinal infectious disease caused by Salmonella typhi infection. Its classic clinical course comprises four stages: During the initial stage, patients present with fever, cough, and sore throat; during the peak stage, they develop persistent high fever, constipation, and rose spots; during the defervescence stage, symptoms gradually subside; and during the convalescent stage, body temperature gradually normalizes and appetite improves.