The History of Typhoid Immunization

Americans contracting typhoid fever, a serious bacterial disease, acquire it mostly through international travel or contact with a carrier. Fortunately, typhoid has a strong history of immunization for the affected.

Early Vaccination

• Countries like England and Germany have been using the whole-cell S. typhi vaccine as far back as 1896; however, because of its likeliness to produce adverse reactions, other vaccinations are more popular.

Oral Vaccine

• Vivotif Berna, Ty21a, was created in 1989 as the first live oral vaccine for typhoid fever and is currently licensed in 56 countries, including the Americas. The vaccine is manufactured by Crucell, also known as Verna Biotech, Ltd.

Injection Vaccine

• Typhim Vi was created in the 1980s by John Robbins at the NIH; however, it wasn't licensed as a usable injection vaccine until 1994. The current manufacturer is Aventis Pasteur, SA.

Effectiveness

• According to the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii), the oral vaccine has averaged around 63 percent efficiency for recipients of the immunization after seven years. Likewise, the NNii reported 55 percent efficiency for children recipients in South Africa after three years.

Programs

• Because of technological deficiencies in most countries widely affected by typhoid fever, immunization routines haven't been fully established where needed; however, countries like China and Vietnam have recently established routine typhoid immunization protocols into their normal immunization requirements.