Malawi is considering the adoption of a new typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended as the most effective medication for fighting the disease.
Typhoid fever patients exhibit symptoms of fever, headache, shivering and stomachache. Lately, typhoid fever has been prevalent in Malawi, with outbreaks reported in the southern districts of Zomba, Blantyre, Neno, Mangochi, Thyolo and Mulanje.
Yesterday, officials from WHO, Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) and other stakeholders were locked in a workshop meeting where it was revealed that Malawi, like other countries in sub -Saharan Africa, is threatened by typhoid, which has so far caused 128 000 deaths globally.
Ministry of Health and Population deputy director responsible for epidemiology, Matthew Kagoli, said typhoid has become a common disease in Malawi where about 16 000 cases were inclusively reported from districts such as Blantyre, Neno and Zomba.
He said: “Typhoid has, so far, become one of the common diseases in Malawi and it is one of the diseases that government is monitoring.”
Malawi-Liverpool Welcome Trust (MLWT) and College of Medicine researcher Melita Gordon stressed the need to adopt the vaccine, considering the ineffectiveness of previous vaccines which were not administered on children below the age of two.
She said research shows that for the past 20 years, Malawi has been having a high burden of typhoid and that the projection of people suffering from the disease will be around 100 000 per year if it cannot be controlled early.
WHO representative Aziza Mwisongo, who is a senior medical officer responsible for the introduction of TCV in Africa, noted that the disease is claiming more lives in the sub-Saharan Africa region, describing this as the more reason why Malawi needs to adopt the vaccine.
The new vaccine, if adopted, will be given to children from six months and above. Adults, aged 45, may also be vaccinated, as it gives long-term protection compared to the previous vaccine which could not be given to infants.