Vaccination Is the Best Bet Against Drug-Resistant Superbugs — Experts

Experts encourage parents to vaccinate their children against typhoid to ensure that the child has access to clean drinking water. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS By Zofeen EbrahimKARACHI, Jul 6 2023 (IPS) The first thing you notice about eight-month-old Manahil Zeeshan is how tiny she looks on the adult-size hospital bed at the government-run Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) in Korangi, a neighbourhood in Karachi. Her right foot is taped with a cannula, and she whimpers incessantly. “I have been in and out of the hospital for the last seven days,” said Uzma Mohammad, Zeeshan’s mom, with worry lines on her forehead. “High fever that refused to come down, severe cough for days and breathlessness,” were some of the symptoms Mohammad described. She was convinced someone had “put a spell” on her daughter. The doctors, however, suspected she had typhoid. Salmonella Typhi bacteria cause typhoid fever, and Salmonella Paratyphi bacteria cause paratyphoid fever. According to the US-based public health agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with a fever that can be as high as 103 to 104°F (39 to 40°C), the sick person can have weakness, stomach pain, headache, diarrhoea or constipation, cough, and loss of appetite. Some people have a rash of flat, rose-coloured spots.  Internal bleeding and death can occur but are rare. It affects between 11 and 20 million people each year, leading to 128,000 to 161,000 deaths, according to the Worl...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Civil Society Development & Aid Editors' Choice Featured Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies Inequality Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Pakistan Source Type: news