By NewsDesk   @bactiman63

Sindh province in Pakistan has been battling a huge outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid fever during recent years.

Salmonella serotype Typhi
Typhoid image/CDC

More than 11,000 cases have been reported during the past three years.

This week, UN and Pakistani health officials reported vaccinated more than 9.4 million children aged from 9 months to 15 years against typhoid fever, with a coverage rate of 95 percent.

More than 8,000 skilled vaccinators and health workers, along with 20,000 social mobilizers and more than 2000 supervisors and monitors, including international monitors, participated in the campaign from 18 to 30 November 2019.

Pakistan is the first country in the world to introduce the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) into its routine immunization programme.

Typhoid vaccine over 81% effective in tackling disease in Nepal

The extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strain of Salmonella Typhi does not respond to most antibiotics used to treat typhoid fever. The outbreak has spread to provinces throughout the country, and several deaths have been reported. XDR typhoid associated with travel to Pakistan has been reported in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Australia.

Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube