Who would have thought it? A cuddly toy in the shape of a virus! These cuddly characters are incredibly endearing and educational too. Each one comes with a detailed scientific description and photograph of what he looks like under the microscope, along with medical tips on how to avoid picking up these bugs in daily life. Children seem to be totally fascinated by them, and it really helps when explaining all about why they are feeling poorly. The perfect gift to accompany a Get Well card. Also a brilliant present for medical students, doctors and nurses etc. You will soon understand why they are becoming amazingly popular! Start collecting now. FACTS: After a week or two incubation period with Salmonella typhi, Typhoid Fever strikes causing hemorrhagic red spots on the chest and abdomen, ulceration of the intestines and an extremely high fever that can last well over a month. Untreated, the mortality rate is as high as 20%. Fortuantely, there are now vaccines that are up yo 70% effective. In addition, although thyphoid fever can exhibit some antibiotic resistance, it is generally responsive to treatment. Although typhoid fever is now rare, at the turn of the 20th century is was far more common. Common enough, in fact, that one Mary Mallom, a cook in New York, became a carrier. As she moved from hpuse to house, one by one her employers fell ill. She denied ever having the disease (and indeed, mild cases can be confused with the flu), but New York officials had her tested, discovered that she was a carrier, and ordered to have her quarantined. She was eventually released, but promptly adopted a false name and returned to her trade. She was subsequently apprehended a second time, but not before leaving a trail of cases - and several deaths. Though other healthy carriers also caused inadvertent cases, Typhoid Mary's refusal to cooperate with officials indelibly associated her name with the disease.