Photo Courtesy:http://www.bacteria.cz/

Last Saturday, my father caught a fever. He was not even able enough to stand properly due to weakness. After two days of continuous fever, he went to the hospital and was diagnosed with typhoid. After that incident, I started hearing about a lot of people suffering from typhoid.

What might be the cause of typhoid and how is it related to weather? Well, according to the doctors, typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella typhi. Another bacteria named Salmonella parathyphi also causes typhoid fever but of mild nature. The bacteria is transferred from contaminated water or food to human body.

Rainy season brings lots of joy and romance along with it. Not only does it refreshes the soul but also plays a significant role in agriculture. Definitely, rain soothes the mood disturbed by the scorching sun. But these drops of happiness also carry agent that causes disease like cholera, typhoid, jaundice and diarrhea. Unchecked water around houses in small pits, lands, drains and even on pots and vase makes the perfect place for these bacteria to reproduce and replicate.

The narrow streets and roads of Nepal are not well managed. We can see lots of holes on concrete roads and even on highways. The drainage system needs improvement as well. We hear news of Tinkune and Baudha area flooded after heavy rain due to lack of proper drainage. It is very easy for those bacteria to get inside the human body living and cause high fever, nausea, vomiting and many more complications.

What could be the solution? Well, the long term solution would be mending those wounded roads and giving them a proper place to drain the accumulated water. Looking at the current situation of Nepal, we can least expect the leaders to stand up from their chair and actually make the road condition better. So, for now we can try and avoid typhoid from our own. One way is to maintain our personal hygiene. Typhoid bacteria would find it difficult to attack the body which intakes boiled and filtered water. Also, avoiding stale food would lessen the chances of getting typhoid. Using masks to prevent getting air contamination will also help. Food gets easily spoiled in this weather because of frequent changes in weather from intense sun to excessive rain and vice-versa. So avoiding easy rotting foods like meat, un-refrigerated vegetables is also very important.

Typhoid is not dangerous if it is diagnosed early. Proper medication and a little care can easily cure typhoid but carelessness can make the disease fatal. Therefore, I would recommend going to a doctor and taking appropriate tests as soon as you catch a fever to avoid unnecessary complexities later on.

In this weather, spend happy hours with your loved once and enjoy the moment but also remain conscious as those little creatures are also searching for a place to spend their happy hours in the weather of romance.