Latest articles about typhoid       Routine vaccines: Typhoid

Gavi's impact

Approximately 40 million children have been reached with TCV with Gavi support

PREVENTING TYPHOID AND RESPONDING TO OUTBREAKS

Gavi funding for WHO-prequalified typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) became available in 2018. In 2019, Pakistan became the first country to introduce the new TCV into its routine immunisation programme, using a phased approach; Liberia and Zimbabwe introduced nationwide in 2021; and Nepal in 2022. By end 2021, more than 3 million children had been reached with TCV through routine immunisation, and an additional 36 million children aged up to 15 through catch-up campaigns, implemented with Gavi support alongside routine introduction.

RENEWED MOMENTUM

While the COVID-19 pandemic initially slowed the pace of new TCV introductions, a growing body of evidence of the vaccine's high efficacy, the threat of antibiotic resistant strains of Salmonella Typhi and data-driven efforts to support country decision-making using available typhoid burden data have helped generate renewed momentum: three additional countries are planning their introductions; and others, including India, have National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) recommendations for introduction. The Vaccine Alliance will continue supporting high-burden countries to introduce TCV – including by helping to strengthen disease diagnostic testing and surveillance, in order to assess disease burden and guide decision-making for impactful vaccine use.

Rolling out TCV in Pakistan

The issue

Every year, 11–20 million people are infected with typhoid, mainly in low-income countries.

Typhoid fever is a life-threatening disease mainly transmitted through contaminated food or water by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. Symptoms include prolonged fever, headache, nausea, loss of appetite, constipation and sometimes diarrhoea.

With appropriate antibiotic treatment, the case fatality rate of typhoid can drop to less than 1%. However, in recent years there has been an alarming increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Salmonella Typhi. Drug-resistance is spreading across Asia and Africa, posing a serious threat to public health. AMR is increasingly complicating typhoid fever case management, increasing the risk of complications and death, and burdening families and health care systems.

VACCINE-PREVENTABLE

Just one dose of TCV protects against typhoid fever, and is highly effective in children as young as six months of age. TCV available through Gavi support a stronger immune response, resulting in a longer duration of immunity and better protection in children than previous typhoid vaccines. Routine use of TCV in national immunisation programmes, in combination with increased access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, is key to preventing infection and reducing the spread and burden of typhoid around the world (including resistant strains).

In October 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the introduction of TCV for children aged over six months in endemic countries and aligned with the existing routine immunisation schedule where possible. It also recommended catch-up vaccination when feasible and appropriate, prioritising children aged up to 15 years, in order for the introduction to have the greatest impact by quickly reducing disease transmission.

Gavi’s response

Gavi prioritised TCV in 2008, as part of its Vaccine Investment Strategy, but did not make a financial commitment due to the absence of a suitable vaccine. Following the WHO prequalification of a newly available conjugated typhoid vaccine at the end of 2017, and the release of WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) guidance on the use of TCV, Gavi opened a funding window for countries to apply for the vaccine.

More on applying for TCV support

Gavi prioritised TCV in 2008, as part of its Vaccine Investment Strategy, but did not make a financial commitment due to the absence of a suitable vaccine. Following the WHO prequalification of a newly available conjugated typhoid vaccine at the end of 2017, and the release of WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) guidance on the use of TCV, Gavi opened a funding window for countries to apply for the vaccine.

More on applying for TCV support

INVESTING IN TCV IS CLOSELY ALIGNED WITH GAVI'S MISSION AND STRATEGIC GOALS.

  • The majority of cases are among children aged under 15 years.
  • While high-income countries have virtually eliminated typhoid, it is still common in low-income countries, particularly affecting communities who face multiple deprivations – including lack of access to quality water, sanitation and health services. TCV can help bridge this equity gap.
  • Through our market shaping efforts, we can help to improve supply of the vaccine and encourage new manufacturers to enter the market – increasing competition and improving healthy market dynamics.

GAVI SUPPORT

In line with WHO recommendations, Gavi provides: co-financing support for nationwide introduction of TCV into the routine immunisation programme; and full financing for a one-time catch-up immunisation campaign for children aged up to 15 years based on local typhoid epidemiology. Funding support includes vaccines, vaccination supplies and operational costs for implementation.  

Latest articles about typhoid

How Karachi and Hyderabad outsprinted typhoid

This May, Sindh Province in Pakistan embarked on a two-week campaign to deliver typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) to nearly 9 million children at risk from an increasingly drug-resistant bacterium. Rahul Basharat found out how they did it.

In Bangladesh, a new way to map typhoid promises to aid vaccination strategy design

Salmonella Typhi is tricky to culture in the lab. But a group of scientists in Dhaka have shown that a virus that preys on the typhoid bacterium works as a proxy tracker.

How a major typhoid vaccine campaign helped Nepal find missed-out “zero-dose” kids

When health workers and monitors in Nepal got to work rolling out the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) to some 7.5 million kids in 2022, they were on a dual mission.

Nepal’s typhoid conjugate vaccine campaign: a catalyst to reach zero-dose children

Nepal bears one of the most significant global burdens of typhoid, with approximately 82,000 cases resulting in 900 deaths annually.

In the dark: three blind Nigerians tell their stories

Anu Adewale, Kehinde Adegboye and Taiwo Talabi learned the hard way that vaccine-preventable diseases can rob you of your eyesight.

How a Lagos community built on a garbage dump learned to keep safe from disease

Local nurses say Dustbin Estate residents are healthier since charity workers spread the word about disease control measures, stepping up hygiene and boosting demand for vaccination.

Viruses in wastewater could help spot typhoid outbreaks

Hunting for viruses that infect the typhoid bacterium in sewage could be a quicker, cheaper way to detect high levels of disease in communities.

Vaccine profiles: Typhoid

Typhoid is rampant in countries with poor water, sanitation, hygiene and food safety, and the bacterium is developing resistance to almost every antibiotic available. This means that rolling out the typhoid conjugate vaccine is more urgent than…

“It’s difficult, but we’ll find a way”: a new vaccine against typhoid rolls out in a flood-devastated province of Pakistan

Armed with vials of typhoid conjugate vaccine, health workers in Balochistan are doing what they can to protect children threatened by a pincer movement of global crises: antimicrobial resistance on the one hand and climate change on the other.…

Dial-a-vax: Pakistan’s 1166 helpline has answers for the country’s vaccine questions

Is my child eligible for the new typhoid conjugate vaccine? I’m living in a flood-zone and I’m spiking a fever. Can my baby get immunised against COVID-19? In Pakistan, a multilingual government helpline funnels information-seekers straight to a…

New TCV data from Malawi highlight longer-term immune response

Strong immune response data provide even more evidence that typhoid conjugate vaccine offers lifesaving protection to African children.

Could vaccines save us from antimicrobial resistance?

Each year around five million people die from antimicrobial resistant infections. Vaccines could help, but the current vaccine pipeline is insufficient.

Last updated: 18 Apr 2024

Subscribe to our newsletter