The Star Online
February 24. 2019
- Kudat, Malaysia health office has declared a typhoid fever outbreak in the district after five people were confirmed to have contracted the disease
- Cases were confirmed as typhoid by Hospital Queen Elizabeth’s pathology department in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday, Feb 21
- Kudat district officer Sapdin Ibrahim said the situation was still under control and that the outbreak was brought in by those coming in from the Philippines
GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance
February 22. 2019
- This is the second wave of a major typhoid outbreak in Harare which first began in October 2017. This second wave began in September 2018 and has so far resulted in 1,810 cases and two deaths.
- The campaign aims to vaccinate 325,000 people in nine suburbs of Zimbabwe’s capital. It will be the first campaign in Africa to use a new typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) which, unlike other typhoid vaccines, can be administered to young children and has long-lasting immunity.
The Telegraph
February 19. 2019
- Zimbabwe is set to vaccinate over 300,000 people against typhoid in a bid to stop an outbreak that has been ongoing since 2017 which includes drug-resistant strains of the disease
- Children aged between six months and 15 years old will be vaccinated in eight suburbs in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, while in one suburb, Mbare, the campaign will target those aged between six months and 45 years old
Sify Technologies
February 16. 2019
- Indian vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech will ship two lakh doses of its typhoid vaccine to Pakistan
- Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech on Friday said they received a request from Aga Khan University of Karachi to immediately despatch the vaccine to tackle the severe outbreak of drug resistant typhoid fever
The News
February 13. 2019
- Pakistani health authorities have approached an Indian vaccine manufacturer, Bharat Biotech International Limited, for the supply of typhoid conjugate vaccine to contain the Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) typhoid, which has claimed over a dozen lives in Sindh alone and has become highly endemic in the province, especially in Karachi
- Bharat Biotech International Limited is the only manufacturer of the typhoid conjugate vaccine that is sold under the brand name “Typbar TCV” and it is the world’s first clinically proven conjugate typhoid vaccine.
- “The federal government has approached the Indian vaccine manufacturer through the GAVI Alliance to provide us the typhoid conjugate vaccine, which is the only vaccine prequalified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to prevent XDR typhoid,” Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho told journalists in Karachi
Scientific American
February 08. 2019
- But now in the coming months we’ll see the first large-scale uses of a vaccine that also has a potentially huge role to play in reducing AMR. This is a vaccine that protects against typhoid, which is one of the biggest drivers of drug resistance.
- TCV is more effective than existing vaccines and offers longer protection, but it can also be given to younger children thereby covering a larger proportion of the population. In places like Karachi, where antibiotic resistance is increasing by 30 per cent annually and may reach a point where all cases will be resistant to multiple drugs as early as next year, having greater vaccination coverage to prevent the disease will go a long way.
- The vaccine has already been used locally to reduce the spread of the outbreak, and plans are in place to introduce this vaccination nationally later this year.
Samoa Observer
February 06. 2019
- The Ministry of Health is currently implementing a program to eliminate typhoid in Samoa.
- According to Dr. Tagaloa Robert Thomsen, the Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Health Service Performance and Quality Assurance – Medical and Allied Division), the program was initiated towards the end of 2018 and is called “improved surveillance and microbiological capacity for detecting and managing typhoid”.
- “Works will be conducted over a three-year period so starting from improving surveillance, and in terms of laboratory picking up the typhoid and then informing us, and then we go to the families and do contact tracing and collect samples,” he said.
World Health Organization
January 25. 2019
- WHO received newly available data on the Vi-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine Typbar TCVTM (produced by Bharat Biotech International Limited), currently the only licensed TCV available internationally and prequalified by WHO.
- The data comprised preliminary safety data on Typbar TCVTM from an ongoing multicenter trial of effectiveness in the field conducted by the Typhoid Vaccine Acceleration Consortium (TyVAC), data from early public sector use of the vaccine in India and Pakistan and data from private sector use in India reported to the manufacturer.
CBC
January 23. 2019
- A southeast Calgary public school is getting a scrub down after a student there contracted typhoid fever.
- The typhoid appears to have been contracted “during recent travel outside of the country.”
The News
January 14. 2019
- CDC and US health officials have issued a travel alert for Pakistan over outbreak of XDR Typhoid
- The CDC has asked travelers to ensure they have received the typhoid vaccination and are taking precautions to follow safe food and water guidelines
NewsDay
January 11. 2019
- Harare, Capital of Zimbabwe, has run out of fuel to collect garbage, raising fears of a cholera or typhoid outbreak
- The city faces a potential outbreak with the lack of sanitation support, coupled with incessant rains and a water supply crisis
Healio
January 10. 2019
- 5 children (aged 4-12) who traveled to or from Pakistan during late 2017 through mid-2018 have been diagnosed in the US with extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid infectious
- The outbreak in Pakistan involves a Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi strain that is resistant to most antibiotics commonly used to treat the illness
- Between November 2016 and September 2017, 339 infections caused by the XDR Typhi strain were reported in Pakistan, with one travel-related case also reported in the United Kingdom. Enhanced surveillance efforts in Pakistan identified a total of 5,372 cases as of Dec. 30
Mwebantu
January 09. 2019
- Zambia’s Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary says there are no reported typhoid outbreaks in Lusaka District or any other part of Zambia, contrary to media reports
- He also says that there have not been 105 patients admitted at the Chilenje level one hospital for typhoid treatment
Outbreak News Today
December 28. 2018
- Typhoid outbreak in Pakistan has grown to over 5,2000 XDR cases in Sindh province
- 70% of cases in Karachi, with remaining 30% around the district in Hyderabad
- XDR strain of Typhi haplotype 58 is resistant to first and second-line antibiotics as well as third generation cephalosporins
World Health Organization
December 27. 2018
- From 1 November 2016 through 9 December 2018, 5,274 cases of XDR typhoid out of 8,188 typhoid fever cases were reported by the Provincial Disease Surveillance and Response Unit in Sindh province, Pakistan.
- Sixty-nine percent of cases were reported in Karachi (the capital city), 27% in Hyderabad district, and 4% in other districts in the province.
- The circulating XDR strain of S. Typhi haplotype 58 was resistant to first and second-line antibiotics as well as third generation cephalosporins.
Xinhuanet News
December 26. 2018
- Fijian authorities have recorded a total of 59 cases in two provinces:
- In the Naitasiri: 34 confirmed and 14 suspected cases
- In Namosi: 6 confirmed and 5 suspected cases
- The Minister for Health, Ifereimi Waqainabete, says one of the main causes is improper toilet facilities and water sources that the villagers rely on for cooking, cleaning and daily use
- The Ministry is working to identify new water sources and has constructed proper toilet facilities for the villagers
Newswise
December 03. 2018
- Scientists will vaccinate 250 participants aged nine months to two years old in Burkina Faso with typhoid conjugate vaccine
- Data from the study are expected to help inform policymakers about implementing a mass TCV campaign in Burkina Faso
- The vaccine study is a joint effort by the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, (UMSOM) and Groupe de Recherche Action en Santé (GRAS) in Burkina Faso
The Times of India
November 29. 2018
- Doctors are worried drug-resistant typhoid could hit India and say the country is quickly running out of antibiotics to treat the disease
- Ciprofloxacin has been rendered ineffective, prompting doctors to prescribe ceftriaxone
- It is believed to be the result of bacterial resistance due to overuse of antibiotics over the last two decades
Research Matters
November 27. 2018
- In a recent review study, researchers from Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, TN Medical College & B Y L Nair (BYLN) Hospital, Mumbai, and Translational Health Sciences Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, found a decline in the cases of typhoid during the 15-year period of 2000-2015.
- “There appears to be a decline in the isolation of S. typhi in blood cultures, which is more apparent in the past 5 years, which can be temporally related to economic improvement, female literacy, and the use of antibiotics such as cephalosporins and azithromycin”, say the researchers.
The Times of India
November 25. 2018
- Nearly a fortnight after several cases of a mystery fever were reported from 16 settlements, largely housing Rohingya refugees, in Balapur area of the city, cases of typhoid, dengue and chikungunya were confirmed after running several tests.
- Health authorities blame the poor hygienic conditions in these areas for the outbreak.
