The diagnosis Medical and travel history Your doctor will likely suspect typhoid fever based on your symptoms, medical and travel history. The diagnosis is usually confirmed by identifying Salmonella typhi in a culture of blood or other body fluids or tissues. Body fluids or tissue culture For culture, a small sample of blood, stool, urine, or bone marrow is placed on a special medium that encourages bacterial growth. The culture is examined under a microscope for typhoid bacteria. A bone marrow transplant is often the most sensitive test for Salmonella typhi. Although the culture test is the most common diagnostic test, other tests may be used to confirm a typhoid fever infection, such as a test to detect antibodies to typhoid bacteria in the blood or a test that checks the typhoid DNA in the blood. Treatment Antibiotic treatment is the only effective treatment for typhoid fever. Commonly prescribed antibiotics Commonly prescribed antibiotics include: Ciprofloxacin (Cipro). In the Uni...
Chlamydia This is one of the most common STDs. It is caused by bacteria found in vaginal secretions and semen ("semen"). It can be spread through vaginal, oral, or anal sex without a condom or latex / polyurethane barrier. A pregnant woman can pass it on to her babies during childbirth. Symptoms may include vaginal discharge and burning during urination, but most women have no symptoms. Chlamydia can be treated successfully with antibiotics. If left untreated, it can spread to a woman's upper internal genitals (ovaries and fallopian tubes) and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Pelvic inflammatory disease can lead to infertility, which means it may be difficult or impossible to get pregnant. The CDC recommends screening for chlamydia annually for all sexually active women under the age of 25, as well as for older women with risk factors, such as new or multiple sex partners. Unfortunately, recent reports show that less than half of sexually active women under the ag...