Vaccine prevents typhoid in 84 per cent of children

作者：查尔斯·姆帕卡（Charles Mpaka）

[BLANTYRE, MALAWI] A vaccine has proved safe and effective in protectingchildrenagainst typhoid, raising hopes of fighting the disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, astudy说。

More than 1.2 million cases of typhoid and 18,703 deaths from typhoid occur every year in the region, according to the researchers. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the typhoid conjugate vaccine in 2018 for use in countries where the disease is endemic.

A clinical trial conducted in Malawi shows that a single dose of typhoid conjugate vaccine –the only typhoidvaccinelicensed for children as young as six months old – prevented typhoid in a about 84 per cent of 14,069 children aged nine months to 12 years.

“It is a great result for Malawi and for Africa. We were the only site chosen for the trial on the continent.”

Melita Gordon, Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme

“It is a great result for Malawi and for Africa,” says Melita Gordon, a co-author of the study and a professor of clinical infection, microbiology and immunology at the University of Liverpool and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme.

“We were the only site chosen for the trial on the continent. The other sites were in Nepal and Bangladesh and the results were completely consistent across the three sites.”

马拉维是一个伤寒国家，每年每年有400至500箱，据皇后杜贝（Queen Dube）说。healthservices at Malawi’s Ministry of Health.

While typhoid is treatable, its effects can go beyond illness and death, researchers say. It can impair physical and cognitive development in children, affect school attendance and performance, limit productivity and reduce earning potential.

Gordon tellsSciDev.Netthat the findings published in the新英格兰医学杂志last month are a big boost for Malawi and Sub-Saharan Africa’s campaign against typhoid.

“The existing vaccine could not be used in very young children. In addition, the first line antibiotics have been found to be ineffective against multi-drug resistant strains,” she says. “With this vaccine, we can now expect a reduced typhoid burden.”

The three-year study that started in 2017 included 28,000 children, aged between nine months and 12 years, and recruited from primary schools and communities in two locations in Blantyre, Malawi’s commercial city.

“我们能够完成我们的预算和研究ahead of schedule because of the great enthusiasm from communities. We planned to be seeing 200 children in a day but as much as 600 could turn up on some days,” Gordon explains.

After 18 to 24 months of surveillance, the vaccine was found to be safe, with no serious adverse effects on children. It also worked equally well on pre-school aged children.

戈登解释说，这项研究遇到了挑战，例如在研究期内搬出研究地点的几个孩子，以及COVID-19forced them to suspend the study for two months.

她补充说：“但是，由于给父母的常规短信以及健康监视助手的辛勤工作，我们最终管理了良好的保留率。”

The efficacydataof the typhoid conjugate vaccine is the first in Africa, according to Gordon, who hopes that other African countries will follow Malawi’s example in planning to roll out the vaccine.

Dube says that Malawi’s Ministry of Health is setting up systems within its extended programme of immunisation to guide health workers ahead of the roll out in September 2022. “Vaccines are the best tool in as far as prevention is concerned, so we are getting set,” Dube tellsSciDev.Net.

Maziko Matemba, a Blantyre-based community health expert and director of Health and Rights Education Programme Malawi, describes the result as “a big breakthrough”, adding that what remains now is dissemination of information to promote acceptance of the vaccine.

“Typhoid is a big problem in Africa. Vaccination is a cost-effective way of fightingdisease，这对我们来说是一个很好的机会。” Matemba说。

这件作品由Scidev.net的撒哈拉以南非洲英语桌子制作。