Typhoid News
‘It’s hard to believe, but typhoid fever is on the rise’
- It’s hard to believe, but typhoid fever is on the rise. It seems it’s the latest bug to develop extensive drug resistance. As a result, cases are being identified in Germany, Australia, Canada as well as across the developing world
- As we have seen with many other infectious illnesses, extensive international trade and travel is helping to spread antibiotic resistance in typhoid fever
- However all is not lost: there is now some optimism as a new generation of vaccines provide a foundation for new international efforts for typhoid control. New typhoid “Vi conjugate vaccines” (TCVs) include one that only requires a single dose, and is suitable for children of six months and older
Pakistan first country to introduce new typhoid vaccine into routine immunization programme
- Karachi, 15 November 2019 – Pakistan today became the first country in the world to introduce the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) into its routine immunization programme
- The WHO issued its formal recommendation in support of typhoid conjugate vaccine introduction in March 2018
- In anticipation of the availability of typhoid conjugate vaccines, Gavi earmarked US$ 85 million to support eligible countries with the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines into their routine immunization programmes
Typhoid vaccine drive may miss children most in need to be vaccinated
- Pakistan will be the first country in the world to introduce a one-dose vaccine, injected intramuscularly Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine
- Although the government is making an “immense effort” and may well be able to reach the children in schools (about 44 per cent), pediatrician Dr D.S. Akram wondered about the street kids or those working as domestic help and at tea stalls, mechanic shops etc, who do not go to school (some 20pc) and whether the 95pc coverage would be achieved
Typhoid outbreak scare hits Malosa secondary school
- Over 30 students from Malosa secondary school have been admitted to the hospital on suspicion of typhoid fever
- The school uses water from untreated dam
- Last year, the school was forced to close after four students died due to a similar disease
Why is drug-resistant typhoid becoming more common?
- The largest public hospital for children in Sindh, the National Institute of Child Health in Karachi, has recorded 887 cases of typhoid this year
- Most presented with fever and test cultures showed multi-drug resistance, she said, adding that many doctors also caused havoc by prescribing antibiotics without any specific diagnosis
- In an effort to control the typhoid outbreak, the Sindh government will vaccinate 10.1 million children between the ages of nine months and 15 years from November 18 to November 30
With 13,727 XDR typhoid cases reported, Sindh plans to reach 10.1m children
- Following the emergence of 95 per cent of all the typhoid cases as XDR (Extensively Drug Resistant) Typhoid in Sindh, health officials in the province have decided to vaccinate around 10.1 million children
- Currently, only two antibiotics are effective against the XDR typhoid, which are extremely costly and last line of treatment
- Health department officials said the decision to import the Indian vaccine was taken after XDR Typhoid cases reached the figure of 13,727 since it was first reported in 2016
A virulent strain
- In the last three years, a total of 10,195 typhoid fever cases have been reported, with a majority suffering from XDR
- Pakistan launched the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in 1978 with the aim to save children from vaccine-preventable diseases. Once introduced in the EPI, the TCV will be the 11th antigen added to the list
- In a world where numbers are seen as proof of success, the positive thing about immunisation is that its success is quantifiable, and the results are tangible
Otago researchers partner in vaccine project to tackle major killer of African children
- A team of University of Otago researchers is part of a major new international vaccine research project to help tackle devastating Salmonella bloodstream infections which are killing thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa each year
- The recently-launched Vacc-iNTS research project aims to advance the clinical development of an innovative vaccine against invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis
Govt to launch vaccination campaign against typhoid
- Sindh Health Department officials and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have expressed concern over the increasing number of extensively-drug resistant (XDR) typhoid cases in the province
- The officials announced that the government will launch a Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) campaign against the XDR typhoid fever from 18th to 30th November 2019
- Their target is to vaccinate around 10 million children in Sindh
Decades neglecting ancient disease typhoid fever has triggered a health emergency around the world
- New extensively drug-resistant variants of an ancient and deadly disease—typhoid fever—are spreading across international borders
- Cases have been reported in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Iraq, Guatemala, UK, US, and Germany, as well as more recently in Australia and Canada
- Under-reporting and international surveillance gaps mean that drug-resistant typhoid is probably even more extensive than we think
Untreatable strains of typhoid threaten a global health emergency, experts warn
- The disease which causes as many as 21 million cases a year is too often overlooked as a disease of the past, when in fact it is increasingly difficult to treat
- Researchers from Oxford Martin School are calling for global health institutions to dedicate new resources to tackling typhoid
- Rising antimicrobial resistance and the ongoing outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid in Pakistan should be a wake-up call about the risks the disease poses
Eradicating typhoid: A realistic goal?
- Last year saw the development of a domestically produced vaccine, sparking renewed hopes that the disease may be eradicated in the near future
- This is a matter of concern in India as hygiene practices are often overlooked, both in the home and in the settings such as hospitals and schools – exacerbated by a lack of sanitation infrastructure
Ireland Confirms 23 Typhoid Fever Cases
- XDR typhoid fever has been identified in Ireland for the first time
- According to the Irish authorities on October 9, 2019, there have been 23 cases of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) in 2019
- Unfortunately, 3 of these 12 cases of typhoid fever with travel history in Pakistan were infected with extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains
Tomatoes linked to Salmonella outbreak in Sweden; 71 infected
- Illnesses were recorded in all age groups with 46 women and 25 men ill
- Analysis of the Salmonella bacterial genome showed disease cases were related and it is likely they were infected by the same source
- The outbreak strain has multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) pattern 3-12-11-N-211
XDR Typhoid Fever Outbreak Confirmed in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
- Pakistan Travel Alert regarding extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid fever issued by CDC
- The CDC says people from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Australia with a travel history to Pakistan have reported XDR typhoid infections
- Pakistan’s current XDR Typhoid Fever outbreak began in Hyderabad, which is a city of Sindh province, part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, during November 2016
Prokarium Secures £4.6M from Wellcome to Fund the Clinical Development of its Lead Vaccine Programme
- Prokarium announced it has received an investment of £4.59 million from Wellcome to fund two clinical trials of its lead programme, Entervax™, a bivalent vaccine against enteric fever
- Entervax™ is based on the Vaxonella® platform and is the combination of Prokarium’s proprietary strain ZH9 (Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi ZH9), which has been safely administered to 351 individuals including 101 children in the UK, US and Vietnam, plus a novel strain modified to express antigens specific to Salmonella Paratyphi
Taiwan records first case of imported XDR typhoid fever
- Taiwan reported its first imported case of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid fever, diagnosed in a patient who recently returned from a visit to Pakistan
- The patient is now in stable condition, but is currently being kept in an isolation ward at the hospital for further observation
Researchers tackle biofilm to make salmonella infection less aggressive
- Biology researchers at Haifa’s Technion-Israel Institute of Technology say they may have found a way to make salmonella bacterial infections less aggressive by inhibiting the formation of biofilm
- In their work, the researchers decided not to tackle the bacterium itself, but the biofilm – the resilient layer that protects bacteria from substances that pose a danger to them, including antibiotic drugs
- The research is being carried out in collaboration with the Institute for Complex Systems in Jülich and in Düsseldorf, Germany
First case of extensively drug-resistant typhoid reported in Australia
- Australia’s first case of extensively drug-resistant typhoid has been confirmed in a 20-month-old girl, who was taken to hospital suffering with high fever and vomiting
- Dr Philip Britton from the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the University of Sydney said the fact the young girl had recently returned from six weeks in Pakistan led doctors to believe she had typhoid
Typhoid Fever Vaccines Market 2025: Comprehensive Study Explores Huge Revenue Scope in Future | Leading Key Players: Prokarium, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Shanghai Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd
- The Global Typhoid Fever Vaccines Market report aims to provide a complete 360-degree view of the market in terms of cutting-edge technology, key developments, drivers, restraints and future trends with impact analysis
- These Typhoid Fever Vaccines industry trends for short-term, mid-term and long-term during the anticipate phase
- The report also covers key players profiling with comprehensive Typhoid Fever Vaccines SWOT analysis, financial facts and key developments of products/service from the past three years