HEALTH OFFICIALS in Clarendon are currently testing a number of stool samples after a case of typhoid was discovered in the parish over the weekend.
An adolescent male has been confirmed with the bacterial infection and is currently undergoing treatment in hospital.
According to Dr. Deanna Ashley, head of the promotion and protection division in the Ministry of Health, investigations are to determine if there are anymore cases.
"We have to find out if anyone else who had contact with the person has been infected," she said.
INVESTIGATIONS
She noted that investigations would take some time to be complete as all persons from that household and outside who had contact with the infected person had to be tested.
Typhoid is a bacterial infection spread from person to person by way of food or water contaminated with the salmonella typhi bacteria. Among the symptoms of the illness are a sustained fever as high as 104oF (or 40oC), headache, loss of appetite, tiredness, constipation/diarrheoa and in some cases a rash of flat, rose-coloured spots.
The latest case brings the number islandwide since the start of the year to five, adding to the four cases that were discovered last month in Roaring River, Westmoreland.
Dr. Ashley noted that most of the cases discovered so far have only affected persons living in the immediate household. However, she added that whenever there were any cases of typhoid it meant there was a 'breakdown somewhere along the sanitary chain'. Therefore proper hygiene is being encouraged.
"The rule has always been the same. Wash your hands. Wash your hands before you eat, wash your hands after going to the toilet," she said.
