Typhoid fever in the adult and paediatric Indian population of Durban

The features of typhoid fever in Indian South Africans are described. In children the illness was usually uncomplicated. However, anaemia, thrombocytopenia and hypo-albuminaemia were found in both adults and children. The initial symptoms on presentation of diarrhoea and vomiting frequently led to a misdiagnosis of gastro-enteritis. The previous administration of antibiotics also resulted in failure to isolate Salmonella typhi in 41% of patients studied. Typhoid acquired in the microbiology laboratory and that seen in visitors returning from India and the Far East is emphasised. The S. typhi isolates were uniformly sensitive to all antibiotics tested. The disproportionately high number of Indians of south Indian ancestry presenting to the R. K. Khan Hospital needs to be investigated.