A deadly disease which toppled ancient civilizations is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, it is reported.
Typhoid fever still poses a significant threat in some countries, and is highly contagious so can spread to new parts of the world. More than 110,000 die from the disease every year, notably across Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Eastern Europe, where sanitation and water quality are poor.
But as it is becoming antibiotic resistant, experts have issued a dire warning. An international team of researchers recently wrote in the journal Scientific Data: “Despite advances in vaccination and treatment strategies, typhoid fever continues to affect millions annually, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality, and there continue to be large-scale outbreaks.”
Around nine million become ill from typhoid fever every year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) understands. That is despite the misconception typhoid fever was merely a Victorian disease – although in this era, it did pose a significant threat. No section of society was spared – Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, contracted typhoid and died from it in 1861.
Yet, in the US alone, there are now typically around 5,700 illnesses and 620 hospitalisations from typhoid each year. Most cases are linked to international travel, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here, the NHS warns on its website the bacterial infection can spread throughout the body, affecting many organs, and there hundreds of confirmed infections each year. The website adds: “Most of these people become infected while visiting relatives in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan. But you’re also at risk if you visit Asia, Africa or South America.”
The bacteria that cause typhoid fever, Salmonella Typhi, are developing resistance to antibiotics through genetic mutations, allowing them to survive even when exposed to drugs that would normally kill them. Researchers have examined strains in recent years to be able to confirm this.
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Jehan Zeb Khan, the clinical pharmacist at a clinic in northern Pakistan, told The Guardian: “Typhoid was once treatable with a set of pills and now ends up with patients in hospital.”
Once the bacteria enter the body, they typically cause a high fever, fatigue and stomach cramps within one to three weeks. Prompt antibiotic treatment is crucial to prevent severe complications, like intestinal hemorrhage, organ failure and sepsis, and death.
Students at University of Wisconsin–Madison were warned about the potential exposure to Salmonella Typhi in February after a campus café worker was diagnosed with typhoid.
The warning comes after worrying new data released last month showed Tuberculosis (TB) “remains a serious public health issue in England.” Experts said the “reemergence, re-establishment, and resurgence” of several illnesses was down to the return of social mixing and international travel following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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