The Government of Malawi plans a nationwide rollout of the newest typhoid vaccine after a two-year study, making it the first in Africa.

The study the found the vaccine safe and effective in children as young as 9 months as opposed to previously available vaccines which were not effective in children younger than 2 years and only provided short-term protection.

In Malawi, the study on the efficacy of the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine or TCV involved about 28,000 children aged between 9 months and 15 years from three townships in the commercial capital, Blantyre.

With an estimated 1.2 million cases and 19,000 deaths each year, Typhoid is an increasing public health threat in Malawi and across sub-Saharan Africa.

Typhoid is a treatable bacterial infection that has become a serious threat in many low- and middle-income countries.
 
The Principal investigator for the study at the Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust, Professor Melita Gordon, says the results, released this week, show an efficacy rate of more than 80% in protecting children against the disease.