ISLAMABAD: The US health officials have issued a
travel alert for
Pakistan over an
outbreak of
drug-resistant typhoid.According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is an ongoing
outbreak of extensively
drug-resistant (XDR)
typhoid fever in
Pakistan that does not respond to most antibiotics."During 2018, cases have been reported in the United Kingdom and in the United States among travellers returning from Pakistan. All travellers to
Pakistan are at risk of getting XDR
typhoid fever, while those visiting friends or relatives are at higher risk than tourists and business travellers," the CDC said in an advisory.The centre asked travellers to South Asia, including Pakistan, to take precautions to protect themselves from
typhoid fever, including getting a
typhoid fever vaccination, besides taking extra care to follow safe food and water guidelines.It revealed that
Pakistan health officials had reported an ongoing
outbreak of XDR
typhoid fever that began in Hyderabad in November 2016. "The strain of Salmonella Typhi does not respond to most antibiotics used to treat
typhoid fever. The
outbreak has spread to the city of Karachi and to multiple districts, and several deaths have been reported."In 2018, three cases of XDR
typhoid fever were reported in travellers — one who returned to the United Kingdom, and two who returned to the United States," it said. The CDC said
typhoid fever was a serious disease caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi that was spread by contaminated food and water.
أكثر...