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THIS WEEK: World Health Organization endorses new typhoid vaccine
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Jan.03 endorsed the first conjugate vaccine for typhoid.
Dubbed Typbar TVC, the vaccine which has been approved to be introduced by interested countries on their immunization programmes can be administered to children younger than two years of age. Unlike older vaccines, this is said to have longer lasting immunity and requires few doses.
When this was put to Dr. Benard Opar, the Program Manager Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunisation at the Ministry of Health, he said though this is a major breakthrough the country is yet to consider putting it on the immunization schedule with their efforts now going into ensuring increased accessibility of vaccines like rotavirus for diarrhea which are already on the schedule.
Uganda last suffered a major typhoid outbreak in 2014 affecting mostly people in down town Kampala and neighboring districts.
However, approval of the vaccine comes shortly after recommendation by the organization for typhoid conjugate vaccines to be introduced in endemic countries for children over six months of age.
