Typhoid Fever, Below the Belt

Genital ulcers occur due to infective, inflammatory, malignant and drug-related causes. In tropical countries such as India, such ulcers are due to parasitic, tubercular, rickettsial and bacterial (sexually transmitted infections) aetiologies. Typhoid fever is endemic in the tropics. Except "rose spots", skin manifestations in typhoid fever are unusual, and they are missed due to pigmented skin. Patients do not often complain of genital ulcers due to shame or fear. Genital examination is not routinely performed in typhoid fever. We describe scrotal ulcers as the presenting symptom of typhoid fever, which subsided with appropriate therapy.