OBJECTIVE: To use new data to make a revised estimate of the global burden of typhoid fever, an accurate understanding of which is necessary to guide public health decisions for disease control and prevention efforts. METHODS: Population-based studies using confirmation by blood culture of typhoid fever cases were sought by computer search of the multilingual scientific literature. Where there were no eligible studies, data were extrapolated from neighbouring countries and regions. Age-incidence curves were used to model rates measured among narrow age cohorts to the general population. One-way sensitivity analysis was performed to explore the sensitivity of the estimate to the assumptions. The burden of paratyphoid fever was derived by a proportional method. FINDINGS: A total of 22 eligible studies were identified. Regions with high incidence of typhoid fever (>100/100,000 cases/year) include south-central Asia and south-eastAsia. Regions of medium incidence (10-100/100,000 cases/year) include the rest of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania, except for Australia and New Zealand. Europe, North America, and the rest of the developed world have low incidence of typhoid fever (<10/100,000 cases/year). We estimate that typhoid fever caused 21,650,974 illnesses and 216,510 deaths during 2000 and that paratyphoid fever caused 5,412,744 illnesses. CONCLUSION: New data and improved understanding of typhoid fever epidemiology enabled us to refine the global typhoid burden estimate, which remains considerable. More detailed incidence studies in selected countries and regions, particularly Africa, are needed to further improve the estimate.

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The global burden of typhoid fever.

Typhoid and paratyphoid fever continue to be important causes of illness and death, particularly among children and adolescents in south-central and Southeast Asia, where enteric fever is associated with poor sanitation and unsafe food and water. High-quality incidence data from Asia are underpinning efforts to expand access to typhoid vaccines. Efforts are underway to develop vaccines that are immunogenic in infants after a single dose and that can be produced locally in countries of endemicity. The growing importance of Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi A in Asia is concerning. Antimicrobial resistance has sequentially emerged to traditional first-line drugs, fluoroquinolones, and third-generation cephalosporins, posing patient treatment challenges. Azithromycin has proven to be an effective alternative for treatment of uncomplicated typhoid fever. The availability of full genome sequences for S. enterica serotype Typhi and S. enterica serotype Paratyphi A confirms their place as monomorphic, human-adapted pathogens vulnerable to control measures if international efforts can be redoubled.

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Global trends in typhoid and paratyphoid fever

Salmonella enterica infections are common causes of bloodstream infection in low-resource areas, where they may be difficult to distinguish from other febrile illnesses and may be associated with a high case fatality ratio. Microbiologic culture of blood or bone marrow remains the mainstay of laboratory diagnosis. Antimicrobial resistance has emerged in Salmonella enterica, initially to the traditional first-line drugs chloramphenicol, ampicillin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Decreased fluoroquinolone susceptibility and then fluoroquinolone resistance have developed in association with chromosomal mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region of genes encoding DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV and also by plasmid-mediated resistance mechanisms. Resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins has occurred more often in nontyphoidal than in typhoidal Salmonella strains. Azithromycin is effective for the management of uncomplicated typhoid fever and may serve as an alternative oral drug in areas where fluoroquinolone resistance is common. In 2013, CLSI lowered the ciprofloxacin susceptibility breakpoints to account for accumulating clinical, microbiologic, and pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic data suggesting that revision was needed for contemporary invasive Salmonella infections. Newly established CLSI guidelines for azithromycin and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi were published in CLSI document M100 in 2015.

Epidemiology, Clinical Presentation, Laboratory Diagnosis, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Antimicrobial Management of Invasive Salmonella Infections

Objective To inform policy-makers about introduction of preventive interventions against typhoid, including vaccination. Methods A population-based prospective surveillance design was used. Study sites where typhoid was considered a problem by local authorities were established in China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Viet Nam. Standardized clinical, laboratory, and surveillance methods were used to investigate cases of fever of ³ 3 days’ duration for a one-year period. A total of 441 435 persons were under surveillance, 159 856 of whom were aged 5–15 years. Findings A total of 21 874 episodes of fever were detected. Salmonella typhi was isolated from 475 (2%) blood cultures, 57% (273/475) of which were from 5–15 year-olds. The annual typhoid incidence (per 100 000 person years) among this age group varied from 24.2 and 29.3 in sites in Viet Nam and China, respectively, to 180.3 in the site in Indonesia; and to 412.9 and 493.5 in sites in Pakistan and India, respectively. Altogether, 23% (96/413) of isolates were multidrug resistant (chloramphenicol, ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole). Conclusion The incidence of typhoid varied substantially between sites, being high in India and Pakistan, intermediate in Indonesia, and low in China and Viet Nam. These findings highlight the considerable, but geographically heterogeneous, burden of typhoid fever in endemic areas of Asia, and underscore the importance of evidence on disease burden in making policy decisions about interventions to control this disease.

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A study of typhoid fever in five asian countries: disease burden and implications for controls

http://repository.ias.ac.in/2443/1/2443.pdf

Typhoid and paratyphoid fever

Relative efficacy of blood, urine, rectal swab, bone-marrow, and rose-spot cultures for recovery of Salmonella typhi in typhoid fever.

The efficacy of orally administered trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was compared with that of oral amoxicillin in therapy of typhoid fever due to both epidemic chloramphenicol-resistant and endemic chloramphenicol-sensitive Salmonella typhi. Both drug regimens were effective and of comparable value in treatment of chloramphenicol-resistant infections, as measured by duration of fever (124 hr and 115 hr, respectively) and duration of bacteremia (1.0 and 0.4 days, respectively). Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole therapy of infections due to chloramphenicol-sensitive S. typhi resulted in more rapid lysis of fever than did amoxicillin therapy. Trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole were not synergistic in vitro against the chloramphenicol-resistant strain of S. typhi, and the role of sulfamethoxazole in treatment of such infections appears to be minimal. Oral administration of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is effective therapy of chloramphenicol-resistant, and probably of ampicillin-amoxicillin-resistant, typhoid fever.

Miguel Terminel

Papers

Relative efficacy of blood, urine, rectal swab, bone-marrow, and rose-spot cultures for recovery of Salmonella typhi in typhoid fever.

Comparison of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin in therapy of chloramphenicol-resistant and chloramphenicol-sensitive typhoid fever.