Typhoid News
Brazil: Typhoid fever cases increase 300% in Belém
- Belém, the capital of Pará in northern Brazil, is experiencing a 300% increase in typhoid fever cases in 2024, with 16 confirmed cases from January to October compared to 4 cases in 2023.
- The majority of cases are concentrated in the Jurunas neighborhood (10 cases), with additional cases reported in Pedreira, Marambaia, Fátima, Canudos, and Barreiros.
- Health authorities in Belém, through Sesma’s Health Surveillance, are investigating the causes behind this sharp rise in cases.
Fiji: Typhoid precautions essential as cyclone season approaches
- Fiji’s Ministry of Health urges caution against communicable diseases like typhoid as the cyclone season approaches.
- The Northern Division is a significant area of concern for typhoid prevalence. The public is advised to protect themselves through vaccination, with the typhoid conjugate vaccine proven effective.
- “We will encourage our general public in the Northern Division to please, if the team is coming over to your respective areas, villages, and settlements for vaccination, please do take the time to ask questions. I have received the vaccination, and you know it works. The numbers have come down, so the onus is on the general public to please, if you are provided the opportunity to get your children vaccinated, please do.” states Fiji Minister for Health Dr. Atonio Lalabalavu.
- The Ministry will continue awareness campaigns, vaccination efforts, and preventive measures to ensure public safety.
Typhoid vaccine trial confirms sustained protection for older children
- The TyVOID study evaluated the long-term effectiveness of a single-dose TCV in Bangladeshi children over five years, finding high protection (80-96%) within the first two years.
- Three to five years post-vaccination, the incidence of typhoid increased three-fold, especially in younger children, indicating a decline in vaccine effectiveness, with better sustained protection (59-85%) observed in children vaccinated at age two or older.
- The study suggests a booster dose might be beneficial, especially for children vaccinated under age two, to ensure sustained protection through the school years when typhoid risk is highest.
- With TCV scheduled for a national campaign rollout in Bangladesh in 2025, continued monitoring is essential to understand vaccine impact on typhoid burden, antibiotic resistance patterns, and vaccine duration in high-risk settings.
‘Drug-resistant typhoid is the final warning sign’: disease spreads in Pakistan as antibiotics fail
- Typhoid is usually treatable with antibiotics, but resistance to the drugs is increasing, leading to more severe cases and hospitalizations. Pakistan has one of the highest rates of drug-resistant typhoid- more than 15,000 cases officially recorded – with contaminated water and poor sanitation contributing to the spread of the disease.
- Overuse of antibiotics is a significant factor in the rise of drug-resistant bacteria, with global consumption increasing by nearly 50% between 2000 and 2018, particularly in South Asian countries like Pakistan.
- Rapid diagnostic tests, like Typhidot and Widal, often result in false positives, causing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions and contributing to resistance. Despite a ban on these rapid tests, they remain widely used in Pakistan, further driving the spread of drug-resistant typhoid.
- Azithromycin, one of the few remaining effective antibiotics against XDR-typhoid, is starting to lose its effectiveness as doctors observe emerging strains that no longer respond to it.
- “XDR-typhoid is the final warning sign. After this we will enter a stage where the superbug won’t respond to any drugs at all. That means we will go back to when typhoid was a more deadly disease. And that really worries us,” says Jehan Zeb Khan, a clinical pharmacist at Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar.
In Bangladesh, a new way to map typhoid promises to aid vaccination strategy design
- Challenges exist in deploying vaccines effectively due to difficulties tracking Salmonella Typhi. However, Dr. Senjuti Saha from the Child Health Research Foundation in Dhaka suggests using Salmonella Typhi-specific bacteriophages for tracking.
- Dr. Saha and her team have developed an innovative surveillance method using a proxy indicator to detect Salmonella Typhi in urban settings. Samples collected from drains are filtered and enriched to detect Salmonella Typhi-specific bacteriophages in the lab. The presence of these bacteriophages can indicate the presence of Salmonella Typhi in the area, helping to understand the burden of typhoid fever.
- “We hope that our new method of surveillance can provide a clear idea of existence of the Salmonella Typhi bacteria in urban settings, which is very applicable to decide the strategy of vaccination against typhoid fever in any country,” Dr. Saha stated.
Study spotlights high incidence of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan Africa
- High incidence of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan Africa necessitates typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs).
- Researchers part of the Severe Typhoid in Africa study enrolled patients with fever or reported fever for 3 consecutive days within the previous 7 days. Typhoid fever was confirmed by isolating Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi from blood cultures.
- Burkina Faso, the DRC, Ghana, and Madagascar had an adjusted typhoid incidence of over 100 cases per 100,000 person-years, with the highest in the DRC (315 cases).
- Rural settings reported the highest incidence, however, the introduction of TCVs could substantially contribute to typhoid fever control efforts.
Single Dose of New Typhoid Vaccine Protects Kids Long-Term
- Typbar TCV, a one-shot vaccine, shows promise in providing long-term protection against typhoid in children aged 9 months to 12 years.
- A four-year study in Malawi involving over 28,000 children demonstrates a more than 78% efficacy rate for the TCV vaccine. Rates of typhoid incidence dramatically decrease among children who receive the TCV shot.
- The trial’s success leads the Malawi government to commit to vaccinating all children under 15, with babies receiving the Typbar TCV shot at 9 months as part of routine vaccinations.
- The results come at a critical time when climate change, extreme weather events, and increased urbanization may contribute to the rise of enteric diseases, including typhoid.
Study reveals how some bacterial infections become chronic
- A study by Broad Institute, MIT, Harvard, Tel Aviv University, and Sheba Medical Center focuses on nontyphoidal Salmonella causing long-term infections.
- Researchers analyzed bacterial samples from 256 patients with infections lasting at least 30 days, identifying mutations in barA and sirA genes.
- Mutations in these genes decrease the activity of SPI-1 genes, affecting Salmonella’s invasion of host cells.
- The study suggests the less-virulent Salmonella can sustain infections and possibly spread to other hosts.
- Different misspellings of mutated genes in different patients suggest independent evolution of bacteria to lower host immune response.
- Understanding these pathways could lead to new treatments or approaches to prevent persistent infections.
Typhoid outbreak in rural workers in Tairāwhiti, New Zealand
- Six cases of typhoid, a potentially fatal bacterial disease, have been identified in a team of rural workers in Tairāwhiti.
- The outbreak began with one of the team members who recently returned from overseas, Te Whatu Ora said, and control measures have been put in place to prevent it spreading further.
- “This is a small but significant outbreak confined to a rurally based work group,” Te Whatu Ora medical officer of health Dr Jim Miller said.
- The local public health service is monitoring the situation and is in regular contact with the group to ensure that support is in place and any further illness in those already possibly exposed, is treated promptly, Health NZ said in a statement.
Typhoid cases on the rise in India; precaution advised
- A seasonal peak of bacterial infection cases has been noticed over the past three weeks, with an increase in patients displaying clinal signs of typhoid fever.
- “I have seen at least five patients in less than a month. Blood cultures in all these patients returned positive for typhoid said senior pediatrician Dr S. Balasubramanian of Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust.
- In some cases, doctors have seen clusters among family members. “One after the other members get infected either because their water is contaminated, or they have a family member or a close contact who is carrying the infection but is asymptomatic.” said Dr V. Ramasubramanian.
Typhoid cases up 77% in the Philippines
- More than 4,000 typhoid cases have been recorded in the Philippines in the first quarter of the year, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.
- In its latest disease surveillance report, the DOH said it logged 4,440 cases from January 1 to April 15.
- The cases were 77 percent higher compared to the 2,514 recorded during the same period in 2022.
Fever among kids, typhoid keep doctors busy in Chennai
- In addition to children in Chennai becoming sick with parainfluenza, adenoviruses, and respiratory syncytial virus, doctors have also seen an increasing number of typhoid cases.
- Cases usually increase between May and June and subside in September. However, according to senior pediatrician Dr S Balasubramanian, “We did not see typhoid cases in May and June last year. We saw some isolated cases by early October, and we continue to see cases of typhoid among school children every day.”
- Dr. Balasubramanian has said that city hospitals have seen a higher spike in cases this January compared to the same month in 2020 and 2021.
Zimbabwe strengthens capacity to prevent, control and manage cholera and typhoid outbreaks
- Zimbabwe has undertaken several activities to strengthen the country’s prevention, control and management of cholera and typhoid.
- Following a cholera outbreak in 2018, a National Task force for Cholera Elimination was created to support cholera elimination in Zimbabwe, through a multi-stakeholder approach.
- This task force spearheaded the development and launch of a Zimbabwe Multi-sectoral Cholera Elimination Plan 2018 – 2028. Cholera and typhoid, guidelines are essential tools for use by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) and key stakeholders to control the diseases. The current cholera guidelines were developed in 2009 and the typhoid guideline in 2011.
Typhoid cases in Bangladesh on rise amid Covid-19, dengue
- Contagious fever typhoid is taking a serious toll on public health in Bangladesh as the authorities reported 32,276 cases in six months including 5,591 in October alone.
- Microbiologist and Child Health Research Foundation executive director Samir K Saha said that during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, the cases of typhoid declined significantly, but now they were rising gradually.
- CHRF’s surveillance report on Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute stated that the number of typhoid patients more than doubled in the hospital compared with the past year.
Vaccination Campaign Against Typhoid Begins in Quetta, Pakistan
- A 12-day vaccination campaign to control the spread of typhoid was kicked off in the city earlier this month
- 856,000 children between the ages of nine and 15 years will be vaccinated against typhoid in 39 urban union councils in a vaccination campaign
- Initially, this vaccine will be administered in the urban union councils of Balochistan. Later, its scope will be expanded to the entire province
- Quetta District Health Officer Noor Bakhsh Bizenjo has called the vaccine “an extraordinary development”, and said it would allow people to take preventive measures against the disease
Cholera, typhoid cases in Philippines up in 2022: DOH
- Cases of cholera and typhoid have increased in the country during the rainy season, the Department of Health said Friday.
- The country logged 7,681 typhoid cases from January to August this year. This is 109 percent higher compared to the same time period last year, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
- Vergeire said the onset of the rainy season increases the risk of transmission of water-borne diseases.
Typhoid Detection Technique Improves Diagnostic Sensitivity
- A team at the University of California Davis Health working with international collaborators have developed a new technique to detect typhoid and estimate its incidence in populations over time.
- The approach requires only a drop of blood from a finger prick and involves measuring levels of antibodies against two antigens: Hemolysin E (Hlye) and Salmonella lipopolysaccharide (LPS).
- The method also employs AI to calculate antibody decay, which provides an indication of when someone was originally infected
- “Instead of just taking a sample, looking at the person’s antibody response and saying they’re negative or positive, we can model the antibody decay,” said Kristen Aiemjoy, a UC Davis researcher involved in the study. “We use that decay rate to infer when those people were most likely exposed, which provides vital information about the force of infection.”
Antibiotic-Resistant Typhoid From Asia Is Spreading Worldwide
- Treatment-resistant typhoid originating mostly from South Asia has springboarded across borders almost 200 times in the past three decades, according to new research that underscores the increasing global threat of infections that can evade antibiotics.
- The findings, published in The Lancet Microbe, showed that while resistance to first-line treatments generally declined across South Asia, global issues remained. The number of strains able to overpower macrolides and quinolones, two important types of antibiotics, climbed sharply and frequently spread to other countries, the study found.
- The findings are “a real cause for concern,” said Jason Andrews, an associate professor at Stanford University and the study’s lead author, urging that prevention measures be put in place, particularly in high-risk nations. “The fact resistant strains of S. Typhi have spread internationally so many times also underscores the need to view typhoid control, and antibiotic resistance more generally, as a global rather than local problem”.
Chickenpox and typhoid cases catching up in Ernakulam, India
- Health department officials have stated that typhoid cases are showing a rising trend in Ernakulam. As many as 11 suspected cases of typhoid were reported in May, compared to 5 from the previous month.
- The increase in typhoid cases has been blamed on the pre-monsoon rains that have been continuing for the past one week.
- Authorities expect the typhoid cases to rise even further in the coming months due to the monsoon rains. They have advised people to ensure personal hygiene and avoid having stale food and water from outside.
Fiji reports 44 cases of typhoid fever
- Fiji has indicated 44 cases of typhoid fever in the country this year
- According to the Ministry of Health, 23 cases have been recorded in the Western Division, with an increasing trend that has surpassed the outbreak threshold in the last two weeks
- Throughout the region, the Northern Division reported 6 cases and the Central Division recorded 14 cases
