What Typhoid Actually Does to the Body
Salmonella typhi does not simply cause fever and leave. Over the two to four weeks of active infection, the bacteria colonise the small intestine, trigger ulceration of Peyer's patches, the immune tissue lining the gut wall, and drive a sustained inflammatory response that burns through protein, depletes iron stores, and suppresses appetite precisely when the body needs calories most. A 2019 study published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases found that children recovering from typhoid showed measurable reductions in lean muscle mass and serum albumin levels even after clinical recovery, with nutritional deficits persisting for up to six weeks post-discharge. Adults face the same biochemical aftermath, even if the muscle loss is less visible.
