Typhoid News
Fiji reports 213 dengue, 30 typhoid cases
- Fiji has reported 213 cases of dengue fever and 30 cases of typhoid fever this year.
- Health Secretary Dr. James Fong said of the typhoid cases, 11 were from the Central Division, 14 in the west and five in the north of the country.
- “The Ministry of Health and Medical Services Communicable Disease Committee has been activated and is assisting the divisional command centres in responding to cases of leptospirosis, typhoid, and dengue fever, including raising awareness and providing refresher training for medical professionals in primary care for early diagnosis and treatment.” – Dr. Fong
Outbreaks of typhoid fever confirmed in Western Cape and North West, South Africa
- There are currently four outbreaks of enteric fever, three of them in the Western Cape, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Wednesday.
- There are currently 64 cases of enteric fever in the Western Cape, in three separate outbreaks, 18 in North West, 45 in Gauteng, 12 in Mpumalanga, nine in KwaZulu-Natal, seven in the Eastern Cape, four in the Free State and four in Limpopo.
- Dr Juno Thomas from the NICD said the last big outbreak of enteric fever in the country was in 2005, in Delmas, and was traced to a contaminated water supply.
Study assesses how vaccination against typhoid fever could help avert antimicrobial resistance
- Researchers from Yale University, University of Basel, University of Antwerp, CDDEP and other institutions recently published a study aimed to assess how vaccination against typhoid fever could help avert antimicrobial resistance.
- In this study, researchers present country-specific estimates for the effect of TCV introduction on the burden of antimicrobial-resistant typhoid fever in 73 countries eligible for Gavi support.
- According to Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, Study Author, Director, CDDEP, “This study, which is part of a larger research effort to study the effect of vaccines on averting antibiotic consumption, clearly demonstrates the tremendous value of vaccines in addressing AMR. Going forward, vaccines could be a major component of any global strategy to tackle drug-resistant infections.”
- Overall, the key findings of the study are as follows:
- The introduction of routine immunization with TCV at age nine months with a catch-up campaign up to age 15 years was predicted to avert 46–74% of all typhoid fever cases in 73 countries eligible for Gavi support.
- Vaccination was predicted to reduce the relative prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant typhoid fever by 16%.
- TCV roll-out could be especially urgent in places where resistance has emerged and is rapidly spreading. The authors give Pakistan as an example, due to an outbreak of extensively drug-resistant typhoid that has been ongoing since 2016.
Typhoid fever downs 30 in Cotabato
- At least 30 people from the remote village of Manaulanan in Pikit, Cotabato, Philippines have been hospitalized due to typhoid fever
- North Cotabato provincial health officer, Dr. Eva Rabaya, said the 30 patients, many of which are children, may have drank contaminated water
- Dr. Rabaya said the remote village has no potable drinking water, and Manaulanan residents rely on commercially available mineral drinking water in gallons or bottle
- The North Cotabato Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) have been dispatched to help the town health office in monitoring and medication of patients
Health experts link typhoid surge to lack of immunisation in Sindh
- Number of people infected with infectious diseases is soaring across Sindh, India.
- An estimated 174,818 children have been infected with typhoid this year in the province.
- Naushero Feroze reported the highest number of typhoid cases this year.
Argentina province of Salta on alert due to increase in salmonella infections
- The National Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Health of Salta issued an epidemiological alert due to the increase in cases of paratyphoid fever in Salta.
- This year, the National Health Surveillance System recorded 1088 notifications of typhoid and paratyphoid fever, of which 1069 correspond to residents in the province of Salta, mainly in the capital city and surrounding municipalities.
- 63% of infections occurred in children under 15 years of age.
Drug-resistant typhoid cases rise, say scientists
- Scientists have warned of a “dramatic” increase in the number of multidrug-resistant typhoid, a bacterial disease spread through contaminated food, water, or close contact.
- A three-year case-control study on more than 13,000 children, aged less than 16 in an informal settlement in Nairobi county, revealed that more are getting infected with the hard-to-treat typhoid, further creating a burden on the health system.
THECA consortium begins Vi-TT typhoid conjugate vaccine phase IV effectiveness study in Ghana
- 23,000 eligible children ages 9 months to 16 years will be vaccinated against typhoid as part of the phase IV study on TCV effectiveness in Asante Akim, Ghana
- 11,500 subjects will receive the typhoid conjugate vaccine while the other 11,500 subjects will receive a control vaccine
- Evidence supporting the effectiveness of the typhoid conjugate vaccine on both the individual and population levels is essential to implementation of TCV into Ghana’s immunization programming
Typhoid vaccination drive starts in 24 districts
- The typhoid conjugate vaccine is now being administered to children in Punjab as a part of the Pakistani typhoid vaccination campaign.
- 6.6 million children 9 months-15 years old will be vaccinated between June 14-June 26 in 24 districts.
Typhoid outbreak kills 17 in Kwango, DRC
- The Minister of Health of Kwango announced on Friday that 360 cases of typhoid have been recorded in the territory since the start of the quarter.
- Of the 360 cases, 17 have been killed by the disease.
- Residents have been advised to follow appropriate hygiene measures to avoid contraction of typhoid.
3 million receive typhoid vaccine
- The recent vaccination program in Zimbabwe that launched on May 24 experienced great success in its mission to vaccinate children ages 15 and under against typhoid and other diseases.
- The campaign concluded on June 4th but vaccines are still available at local clinics.
- The Ministry of Health attributes the success of the campaign to parents who were happily willing to have the children receive the vaccines.
68 typhoid fever cases recorded in Calabarzon
- Since the beginning of the 2021, there have been 68 typhoid cases reported in the Calabarzon Region of the Philippines.
- Officials from the Calabarzon Department of Health advise individuals to boil water if quality is unknown, avoid unsanitary street-vended foods, and regularly wash hands in order to prevent contraction of typhoid.
Huge turnout for typhoid vaccines in Mbire
- Children ages 6 months-15 years are receiving the typhoid conjugate vaccine as part of the Zimbabwe TCV campaign launch.
- Villagers in Mbire district are appearing to receive the vaccine in mass quantities—eager to be relieved of the immense burden that typhoid cases have had in their community.
Zimbabwe launches typhoid vaccination campaign
- Zimbabwe has recently launched a 12-day campaign to vaccinate as many children as possible in order to reduce the incidence of typhoid, which has spread mercilessly across the population over the past few years.
- Zimbabwe is the second country in Africa to employ the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) this year and moving forward, all children in Zimbabwe will be able receive the typhoid vaccine at 9 months old.
Fight against drug-resistant typhoid aided by new genomic resource
- Typhi Pathogenwatch is a new online resource created to assist in the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella Typhi.
- Genomic data is made rapidly available through the program and can be easily accessed by public health officials across the globe.
- The resource helps facilitate early intervention in countries where such elaborate genomic data was previously not often available.
CDC: All travelers to Pakistan are at risk of getting XDR typhoid fever
- Dozens of cases of antimicrobial resistant typhoid have been reported among people from several non-typhoid-endemic countries after traveling in Pakistan.
- The CDC has linked most–but not all–cases in the United States to recent travel in Pakistan where an outbreak of XDR Typhi has persisted over the last 5 years.
- The increasing number of cases has prompted the CDC to update their travel notice for Pakistan to include recommendations for how travelers can prevent contraction of typhoid fever.
Unicef warns of waterborne diseases outbreak in Byo, Hre
- Unicef has warned of the possibility of an outbreak of waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea, cholera and typhoid, in Bulawayo and Harare as the cities are failing to manage their water reticulation systems.
- The warning follows the death of 13 people after a typhoid and dysentery outbreak in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb and surrounding areas that resulted in nearly 2 000 getting sick last year.
- “UNICEF is supporting refresher training and simulation exercises for Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) on cholera, typhoid and other diarrheal diseases targeting 26 cholera hotspots. Sporadic typhoid fever cases have been reported in the country this year, mostly emanating from Glenview suburb in Harare. A total of 26 suspected typhoid cases were reported in February and March 2021, cumulatively 38 cases,” said Unicef.
Helpers of Ramadan bazaar food handlers must be vaccinated against typhoid
- Family members of food traders involved in preparing food for sale at Ramadan bazaars in Johor are required to get typhoid jabs.
- Johor Health Department deputy director (Safety and Food Quality) Zalilah Nasir added that food handlers should adhere to the new norm of washing their hands before and after handling food, using separate chopping boards for raw and cooked food, wearing appropriate and clean clothes, using personal protective equipment (PPE), and using hand sanitiser and wearing a face mask.
Anti-typhoid drive next month
- An anti-typhoid vaccination drive will start from May 24, and continue till June 5, in 29 urban union councils of the district, told a meeting held at the Deputy Commissioner Office on Monday.
- More than 627,000 children from nine months to 15 years of age will be administered anti-typhoid vaccine in Bahawalpur district.
Liberia becomes the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to introduce Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV): Over 1 million children to be reached
- The Ministry of Health and partners on 6th April officially launched the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) in Liberia targeting more than 1 million children from 9 months to under 15 years.
- “Today is another important day for Liberia and I want to congratulate the government for getting all partners around the table to achieve this milestone”, said Dr. Peter Clement, WHO Representative for Liberia.
