Outbreak of Typhoid Fever in Children of Urban Vellore: A Report from the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in India Cohort

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Jul 13;107(1):82-85. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-0593. Print 2022 Jul 13.

Abstract

We report an outbreak of typhoid fever between April and June 2019 in the Surveillance for Enteric Fever in India cohort, a pediatric cohort from four contiguous semi-urban settlements of Vellore in South India. This cohort of children 6 months to 15 years of age was under surveillance from October 2017 to December 2019. A clustering of typhoid cases in the cohort was noted with reference to time, place, and person. The overall typhoid attack rate in the cohort was 0.9%, with the highest attack rate of 1.7% being documented in one of the four areas. The rate of hospitalization and complications in children who were typhoid positive during the outbreak was 28% and 2%, respectively. Given the background of suboptimal water, sanitation, and hygiene, and the risk of typhoid fever outbreaks in these settings, it is imperative that a typhoid vaccine be considered for introduction as a pragmatic preventive approach.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Cohort Studies
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Humans
  • India / epidemiology
  • Sanitation
  • Typhoid Fever* / epidemiology
  • Typhoid Fever* / prevention & control
  • Typhoid-Paratyphoid Vaccines*

Substances

  • Typhoid-Paratyphoid Vaccines