Typhoid fever in children

Summary

Observations have been made in 189 cases of typhoid fever in children. The case fatality rate was 6·9% and excluding moribund cases 3·7%. Typhoid fever was more common in the age-group 6 to 10 years. Mortality rate was higher amongst male children. In Bombay, the incidence of typhoid is higher in the months of May and October. Relative bradycardia observed in adults was generally absent in children. The typical typhoid tongue was observed only in very toxic cases and in older children. Though the incidence of complications is more in children than in adults, the case fatality rate is less in children than in adults, except in complications due to diarrhoea and circulatory failure. The relapse rate was 5·2% with no fatality in this group. Chloramphenicol when administered as a powder gave better results than the liquid.