Typhoid News

• 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.

• 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 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.

• 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. 

• 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 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Liberia on Monday, April 5, became the first country in Africa to introduce the new typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) into its Expanded Program for Immunization
• The vaccine will be introduced to children nationwide in April 2021, beginning with a five-day vaccination campaign to reach 1.9 million children from nine months to younger than 15 years of age across Liberia’s 15 counties. This will be followed by introduction of TCV into Liberia’s routine immunization schedule for nine-month-old infants.

• Malaysian doctors are calling on food handlers to ensure they are vaccinated against typhoid before the Ramadan month kicks off.
• “Whilst it is important that our food handlers are mindful in practising good personal hygiene and sanitation such as the good habit of hand-washing with soap, it is equally critical that they are vaccinated against typhoid,” said Dr Marzuki, who is also an associate professor in the department of social and preventive medicine at the University of Malaya.

• Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday (March 9) announced the country’s first locally acquired case of typhoid fever this year
• The health department is currently investigating the patient’s dietary and contact history while testing those persons who interacted with her to pinpoint the source of the infection

A new strain of Salmonella Typhi that is resistant to the antibiotics typically used to treat typhoid fever had infected at least 71 people in the United States as of Jan. 14, according to CDC, in today’s bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Georgia, Maryland, and Missouri.

• Officials in Singapore are investigating if two typhoid fever cases are linked to eating at a food outlet
• The Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said two people fell ill after having food prepared by Hooi Kee Eating House on Clemenceau Avenue in Singapore Shopping Centre

• The Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TVC) campaign was continued in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Punjab as part of reaching an overall target of 12.7 million children between the ages of nine months to 15 years
• The TCV drive has been started due to the high number of typhoid cases in the country as more than 8000 cases were reported in the year 2020

• The CDC says Salmonella Typhi is a bacteria which causes Typhoid fever, an illness which is usually acquired during travel and can be treated with antibiotics
• Although normally associated with travel outside of the country, the CDC is warning there are now cases reported among Americans which have not traveled outside the country

• The Fiji Ministry of Health is reporting at least 10 cases of typhoid fever on the island of Vanua Levu
• The cases were reported in the provinces of Cakaudrove and Macuata

• There are six confirmed cases of typhoid in the Northern Division
• Cases from a non-red spot area were because there had been a lot of movement from place to places during the festive season

• Around 226 area Incharges have been trained with the coordinated efforts of UNICEF to monitor the two-week-long anti-typhoid vaccination campaign that would be launched in urban areas of district from February 1 to 15
• Over 18,76,539 children from nine months to 15 years of age would be vaccinated under the Typhoid Prevention Campaign

• Movement of people into cyclone-affected areas is being discouraged after two reports of typhoid cases on Vanua Levu
• Though these cases are not related to STC Yasa, Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete believes preventative measures should be followed to prevent any outbreaks