Can I get typhoid from eating eggs?

What you need to know:

Do eggs cause typhoid? Can you gain healthy weight by eating fat? And what is the connection between a running nose and a fan? These are some of the questions Dr Vincent Karuhanga answers this week

Dear Doctor: I love eating eggs. However, I have had to suspend them after my doctor saying I would contract typhoid. I still do not know the link between typhoid and eggs.
— Opio

DearOpio: Typhoid is caused by a bacterial germ (Salmonella Typhi) mainly through eating food or taking drinks contaminated by stool from one suffering from the disease. If the person handling food suffers from the disease or has suffered and remained with germs in sanctuaries like the gall bladder (carrier) they may transmit the germs.

Eggs if contaminated with the same germs due to unhygienic food practices or if chicken get the germ (although they do not suffer from the disease) they may pass it to the eggs before the shell is formed.

If eggs are not properly prepared (some people like them raw or there about) then one risks getting typhoid. Eggs are a nutritious food and unless one is allergic to them, they should not be abandoned for fear of contracting typhoid. What you can do is have the eggs well done to avoid infection.