A study related to the Salmonella typhi bacteria causing typhoid has raised concerns among doctors and scientists owing to its resistance to existing antibiotics. On the other hand, doctors in India have been worried about this issue since a long time.

The full genome sequencing of 3,489 served as the basis for the study, which was reported in the Lancet Microbe. Typhi isolates found in blood samples taken between 2014 and 2019 from typhoid fever patients in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Bangladesh.

Additionally, 4,169 S. Typhi samples isolated between 1905 and 2018 from more than 70 different countries were sequenced and analyzed. The data reveals that since 1990, resistant S. Typhi strains have crossed international borders at least 197 times. These strains have been recorded in the UK, US, and Canada, while they have most frequently been found in south Asia and have spread from that region to southeast Asia, east, and southern Africa.

A serious infection that affects the public′s health, typhoid causes symptoms like a high fever that lasts for days on end, nausea, headaches, and abdominal pain. Typhoid fever infections can be treated with antibiotics, but their efficacy is in jeopardy due to the advent of resistant S. Typhi strains.

Experts stressed the importance of enhancing preventative measures, particularly in countries with the highest risk, and expressed concern about antibiotic and multi-drug resistance, which may be contributing to the international spread of resistant strains of S. Typhi. If drug resistance keeps rising, they also mentioned the need to repurpose existing medications with recognized negative effects. (Times of india, Jun 25, 2022)