TYPHOID PYELONEPHRITIS, RENAL TYPHOID FEVER

Abstract

The typhoid bacillus like other members of the Eberthella group of bacteria is usually associated with disease of the intestinal tract, yet many instances occur wherein it localizes and causes infection elsewhere in the body. The frequency with which typhoid bacilli invade the blood during typhoid fever accounts for their dissemination to other parts of the body, and when localization does occur elsewhere it is usually regarded as a complication. Serious diagnostic problems arise when the bacilli attack vital areas like the meninges, the lungs or the kidneys, especially if intestinal symptoms are minimal or absent, as they sometimes are. Etiologic diagnosis under these circumstances is of especial importance, since patients with typhoid pneumonia or typhoid renal infection are dangerous as disseminators of infection and their excretions may spread typhoid bacilli widely unless proper measures are used to disinfect the sputum or urine before disposal. In the case of typhoid