SURGE in typhoid cases in Sindh, especially Karachi and
Hyderabad, have finally rung alarm bells in the relevant quarters and the Sindh Government has decided to launch an anti-typhoid vaccination drive across the province. The typhoid conjugated vaccine (TCV) will be included in the government’s existing Expanded Program on Immunization by the end of November this year.
The protective vaccine reportedly will be administered to 1.1 million children aged nine months to fifteen years. Indeed the outbreak of the epidemic disease in several urban and rural parts of Sindh had raised concern amongst health experts since the bacteria that causes typhoid had become resistant to antibiotics. This was the reason that this kind of typhoid was given the nomenclature of ‘superbug typhoid fever’ which in fact had spread fear and panic in the province. Only in Karachi, 2,982 typhoid cases were reported from 1st January to May 2019. The virus known as a silent killer is so fatal that it may spark complexities in the liver, intestines, brain and blood. Given the seriousness of the situation, the Sindh Government has taken a very important initiative and we expect that the vaccination drive will be made successful ensuring one hundred per cent coverage. At the same time it is important that the provincial government also pays attention towards provision of clean drinking water to the masses and ensuring better sanitation services to avoid the spread of such deadly viruses. There is also need to raise awareness amongst the general public to adopt basic hygiene practices. These precautionary measures include using only safe water for drinking purposes, washing fruit, vegetable and utensils with boiled water, washing hands with soap before eating and after using toilet and avoiding eating out. People also need to be educated about the symptoms of the typhoid which include high-grade fever, weakness, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, cough and loss of appetite so that they could timely consult their doctors.
