Tackling typhoid fever in South Asia: lessons from Vietnam

Biblical diseases like typhoid fever continue to plague South Asia, a densely populated region of 1·8 billion people. Typhoid fever, also known as enteric fever, comprises both typhoid fever (caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi [S Typhi]) and paratyphoid fever (caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi A).1GBD 2017 Typhoid and Paratyphoid CollaboratorsThe global burden of typhoid and paratyphoid fevers: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.Lancet Infect Dis. 2019; 19: 369-381Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (191) Google Scholar The mode of transmission is faecal-oral. All health-care workers in South Asia are familiar with this disease. Because there is no reliable rapid diagnostic test available, many health-care workers use the ubiquitous and antiquated Widal…