BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The Kern County Board of Supervisors wants to know if the county is ready for a typhoid outbreak and will hear from health officials about it next week.
Supervisor David Couch asked health officials to find out if an outbreak is possible in Kern County.
The Kern County Public Health Services Department is set to make a presentation about the possibilities about an outbreak to the board on Tuesday.
While vaccines have greatly reduced the spread of typhoid fever, the Centers for Disease Control says you can still get it — especially when traveling.
Couch made the referral after seeing news coverage of a Los Angeles Police Department officer catching the disease in late May.
The Centers for Disease Control says symptoms of typhoid fever include sustained fever that can be as high as 103 or 104 degrees. Other symptoms include weakness, stomach pain, headache, diarrhea or constipation, cough and loss of appetite.
Some people with the fever can also develop a rash of flat, rose-colored spots, the CDC says.
You can find out more about typhoid fever at the CDC website.
