Monsoon is one season when street food should be off limits and all for good reason. A common disease that rapidly spreads through food, typhoid usually affects those who frequently indulge in street food. If chaats and pakodas from your office street vendor are your favourite evening snacks, then you need to be aware of typhoid and its implication on your health. Dr. Deepak Gupta from Internal Medicine at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute in New Delhi has a warning for you.

Dr. Gupta reinforces the fact that unhealthy eating habits could lead to typhoid, “Typhoid is caused by the bacterium Salmonella enteric typhi, which is transmitted by the intake of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Poor hygiene habits and public sanitation conditions help in the spreading of these bacteria.”

However, you can do a lot to avoid typhoid. Dr. Gupta reveals the preventive measures to keep bacterium Salmonella enteric typhi at bay, “The prevention of typhoid can be done at two levels. At an individual level, one should wash hands before eating, raw food items should be washed properly before eating, etc. At a community level, awareness programmes about health education and hygiene should be held regularly. Further, clean water for drinking and proper sewage facilities should be provided to the masses.”

Visit the doctor if you have these symptoms and, mind you, there are no home remedies to cure typhoid, "A person suffering from any fever, which lasts for more than five days should get oneself examined for typhoid. There are no specific symptoms apart from abdominal pain." Dr. Gupta says the treatment would include, 'antibiotics accompanied by a proper and healthy diet.'

What's more, if you get typhoid once, it doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. "A person can suffer from typhoid more than once, and one can get infected by the bacterium Salmonella enteric typhi again. Suffering from typhoid once does not guarantee immunity and protection from getting affected by the bacteria again," says the doctor, leaving us with plenty to ponder upon. So if you'd rather stay fit and healthy, especially through this monsoon, then banish street food from your daily menu.

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