Typhoid Fever making a comeback in UK
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Typhoid Fever making a comeback in UK*
People holidaying in exotic places without being vaccinated is causing a
rise in dangerous diseases like typhoid, warn doctors.
And low air fares could be fuelling the problem, they claim.
Figures from the Health Protection Agency show there has been a 69%
increase in typhoid cases in recent years, with most acquired abroad.
Health experts are launching a campaign Valuing Vaccines to spread the
message about the importance of immunisation.
We have seen vaccine-preventable diseases like typhoid on the increase
because people travel abroad to endemic areas without being
vaccinated-Travel health expert Dr Jane Zuckerman
Dr Jane Zuckerman, director of the Centre for Travel Medicine at the
Royal Free Hospital in north London, who is backing the campaign, said:
"The level of public ignorance exposed by these results is extremely
worrying.
"We have seen vaccine-preventable diseases like typhoid on the increase
because people travel abroad to endemic areas without being vaccinated
and return sick to the UK."
Typhoid kills 600,000 people worldwide each year.
In 2002, 147 typhoid cases were reported in England and Wales, with 101
of those acquired abroad.
In 2006, this had leapt to 248 cases, of which 122 were acquired abroad.
A milder strain of the disease, called paratyphoid and which cannot be
vaccinated against, increased by 78% over the last five years.
TYPHOID
Typhoid is caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi and is picked up
through contaminated food or water
Typhoid fever can be life-threatening unless treated promptly with
antibiotics
The disease lasts several weeks and it takes people a long time to recover
A survey of more than 1,000 reveals more than 1 in 3 people in the UK
are not aware of the diseases which can be prevented by vaccination.
Nearly two-thirds did not know that typhoid could be prevented by
vaccination, while two out of five incorrectly believed there was a
vaccine for malaria.
The Health Protection Agency said it was strongly in favour of the
uptake of all recommended vaccines.
A spokeswoman added: "Although typhoid has increased the figures are
still quite low and tend to show some yearly fluctuation."
TV personality, Tony Robinson, whose aunt died of the
vaccine-preventable disease diphtheria, is fronting the Valuing Vaccines
campaign.
Free booklets are being made available in GP surgeries, schools and
online at www.uvig.org.
Globally, 2 million deaths per year are prevented by vaccination and the
World Health Organisation estimates that this figure could reach 4 to 5
million annually by 2015.