Last week, Coalition against Typhoid (CaT) member Rob Breiman, M.D. of CDC-Kenya, published findings that rates of typhoid and multi-drug resistant (MDR) typhoid are much higher than previously thought in urban and peri-urban African settlements. Dr. Breiman’s research, which we’ve blogged about in the past, appears in the latest issue of Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.
Historically typhoid control efforts were focused on parts of Asia, where the burden of typhoid was thought to be highest. With evidence of an unrecognized burden of typhoid in Africa, these new findings have the potential to impact policy decisions which could strengthen typhoid control efforts. This includes introducing typhoid vaccines.
“As it currently stands, there is limited awareness of typhoid in Africa,” said Dr. Breiman in a press release last fall. “Before we can control the disease, we need to provide local evidence of the problem.”
Recognizing the threat of typhoid fever, Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation officials have begun vaccinating children and food service workers in area schools.
A link to the research article, along with other typhoid resources, can be found here on CaT’s website.
