Frequency of Enteric Fever Among Children Presenting with Acute Febrile Illness

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of enteric fever in children with acute febrile illness.
Material and Method: From June 1st, 2023 to December 31st, 2023, researchers from the Department of
Paediatrics at Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital in Gujrat gathered data in a cross-sectional study. The
study comprised a total of 150 children who were experiencing an acute febrile illness. Capillary and venous
blood samples totaling around 5 ml were taken from individuals in a sterile manner. Enteric fever was
considered positive when blood culture for S. Typhi (Wilson and Blair bismuth sulphite agar showed jet black
colony with a metallic sheen). Data were entered and analyzed with statistical analysis program v25. We
stratified by age, gender, duration of fever, and body mass index to examine the impact of these factors on the
development of enteric fever. The Chi-square test was used for post-sorting the data. When the p-value was
less than 0.05, it was determined to be significant.
Results: The frequency distribution results of gender showed that 66(44.0%) were male and 84(56.0%) were
female patients in our study. The mean age of patients in our study was 6.58±3.11 year with minimum value
was 1 years and maximum value was 12 years. In our study, the frequency distribution results of enteric fever
showed that, 34(22.7%) had enteric fever.
Conclusion: Acute fevers often result from typhoid. Acute fever is often caused by typhoid because of
improper hygiene.