2 typhoid cases in Hamilton County

Local health officials have identified two confirmed cases and one probable case of typhoid fever, a potentially life-threatening disease that is common in developing countries.

Cases of typhoid fever in Chattanooga are not unheard of, but those sickened usually have contracted the disease while traveling internationally, said Margaret Zylstra, epidemiologist with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department.

None of the children sickened locally had been outside Tennessee recently, Ms. Zylstra said.

“That is a little bit more unusual, but across the country that does happen,” she said. “We’re still currently working on an investigation” into the source of the infections.

All three children have recovered, she said.

On Friday, the local health department sent out an “epidemiology alert” to local doctors and emergency rooms to be sure providers are on the lookout for symptoms of typhoid. Any cases should be reported to the local health department, the release said.

“It is helpful to know that it’s out there,” Dr. Peter Rawlings, a Chattanooga pediatrician, said Friday. “This is not something that is usually on our typical radar screen. ... I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, to be honest with you.”

Symptoms of typhoid fever include high fever, headache, malaise, abdominal pain, liver and spleen swelling and sometimes diarrhea or a rash, according to the health department. When treated with antibiotics, typhoid is typically cured in two to three days.

The disease is often seen in developing countries with unsanitary conditions in which food and water sources can become contaminated with raw sewage, according to the health department.