An update on typhoid vaccination
Typhoid fever is a potentially severe illness that occurs primarily in less developed countries. Travellers to endemic areas can reduce their risk through standard precautions and vaccination with live oral or parenteral vaccine.
Typhoid and paratyphoid fever, collectively known as enteric fever, are potentially severe systemic infections caused by the bacteria Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi and serotype Paratyphi A, B or C, respectively. The worldwide burden of typhoid fever is reported as between 12 and 22 million cases per year, with a case fatality rate of 20 to 30% if untreated and 1% if treated. Paratyphoid fever is clinically indistinguishable from typhoid fever. The estimated number of cases of paratyphoid fever worldwide and in travellers is approximately 30% of the number of typhoid cases.
Picture credit: Science Source/USDA/Diomedia.com