UK’s have been warned that cases of another Victorian disease could rise.
Experts say bacteria that cause typhoid are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
It comes after an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) was discovered in Wales after one person sadly died of the disease.
Before that, cases of conditions such as scarlet fever and measles were found to have reached their highest level in five years.
Now, a new study has suggested that the largest type of typhoid, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) has spread.
The disease originated in South Asia, but medics at Stanford said the disease has spread to other countries nearly 200 times since 1990.
Overall, antibiotic resistance in South Asia has declined.
Experts said strains resistant to macrolides and quinolones — two of the most important antibiotics for human health — have surged and spread to other countries.
dr. Jason Andrews, of Stanford University and lead author of the paper, said this was a cause for concern.
“It highlights the need to urgently expand prevention measures, especially in countries with the highest risk.
“At the same time, the fact that resistant strains of S. Typhi have spread internationally so often also underscores the need to view typhoid control and antibiotic resistance more broadly as a global rather than a local problem,” said Dr. Andrews.
The experts, published in the journal The Lancet Microbe, looked at blood samples collected between 2014 and 2019.
These came from 3,489 strains of typhoid in people from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan with confirmed cases of typhoid fever.
Medics also added 4,169 samples from 70 countries between 1905 and 2018.
Their analysis found that resistant S. Typhi strains have spread between countries at least 197 times since 1990.
These species are most common in South Asia and from South Asia to Southeast Asia, East and South Africa.
However, doctors found that they had also been reported in the UK, US and Canada.
What is typhoid fever?
Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that can spread throughout the body and affect many organs.
Without prompt treatment, it can cause serious complications and be fatal.
It is caused by a bacteria called Salmonella typhi, which is related to the bacteria that cause food poisoning from salmonella.
Typhoid fever is highly contagious. An infected person can get the bacteria from their bodies in their poop or, less commonly, in their pee.
If someone else eats food or drinks water contaminated with a small amount of contaminated feces or urine, he or she can become infected with the bacteria and develop typhoid fever.
Typhoid fever is most common in parts of the world with poor sanitation and limited access to clean water.
It is believed worldwide that children are most at risk of developing typhoid fever because their immune systems are still developing.
The main symptoms of typhoid fever are:
- a high temperature that is 39 to 40C. can reach
- headache
- general aches and pains
- cough
- constipation
As the infection progresses, you may lose your appetite, feel nauseous, and develop abdominal pain and diarrhea. Some people may get a rash.
If typhoid fever is not treated, the symptoms will get worse over the next few weeks and the risk of developing potentially fatal complications will increase.
Typhoid fever is uncommon in the UK, with an estimated 500 cases per year.
In most of these cases, the person developed the infection while visiting relatives in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan.
But you also run the risk of getting the infection if you visit Asia, Africa or South America.
Bron: NHS
Mutations resistant to quinolones have been spread at least 94 times since 1990 — half of them in South Asia.
Experts added that mutations that cause resistance to azithromycin — a widely used antibiotic — have cropped up at least seven times in the past 20 years.
Doctors said their findings add to evidence of the rapid emergence and spread of strains resistant to antibiotics critical to human health.
Pet owners were recently warned not to share their beds with their dogs with an “untreatable superbug.”
The mcr-1 gene and it is transmitted from animals to humans through microscopic fecal particles.
It makes bacteria resistant to colistin, a last resort used to treat infections when all else has failed.
The CDC said: “Bacteria will inevitably find ways to resist the antibiotics developed by humans.
“Therefore, it is more important than ever to slow the spread of resistance by following infection control measures for each patient.”
If there is an increase in bacteria resistant to all antibiotics, it will lead to many untreatable infections and ultimately more deaths.
If infection rates do not decrease, there will be 10 million deaths per year from drug-resistant infections by 2050.
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