A total of 3,000 people attended the Rainbow Gathering in Tramonti di Sopra. “The gathering took place in a remote area, sanitary conditions were poor, there was no safe source of drinking water, no flush toilets, etc.,” said Eva Grilc of the National Institute of Public Health. Two of the travellers who contracted the disease were from France, one from Germany, and another from Croatia.
Doctors said that the 15-year-old Slovenian girl has already recovered from the disease, meaning she’s no longer in danger. Eva Grilc of the National Institute of Public Health said that they are now trying to find everyone who was in close contact with the girl. While a person with typhoid fever is contagious, the disease usually spreads through impure water. “It can also be contracted from contaminated food, sewage, etc.” said Grilc. Typhoid fever is rare in Slovenia and other industrialized countries. The last case of the disease in Slovenia was reported about four years ago. Typhoid fever is usually brought in from other continents, most notably Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. “If treated, typhoid fever is not fatal. It is treated with antibiotics, and the disease’s mortality rate is lower than one percent,” said Grilc.
Common symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and a rash.