Rising Cases of Typhoid Among Children in India

In India, children between the ages of 3 and 14 are witnessing a rise in typhoid infections, with young school-age children disproportionately impacted. 8 million Indians contract the disease each year and India accounts for more than 40% of deaths due to typhoid. The water-borne illness called typhoid, which spreads through water and food tainted with the Salmonella Typhi bacteria, claims the lives of between 1,28,000 and 1,61,000 people annually. Dr Parimala V Thirumalesh, Senior Consultant – Neonatology and Paediatrics at Aster CMI Hospital in Bangalore, suggested that typhoid fever can be avoided by drinking clean water, improving sanitation, and practising cleanliness. She also suggested certain safety precautions like regular soap and water hand cleansing, drinking bottled water or boiling water for at least one minute, avoiding eating uncooked fruits and vegetables and eating only hot food.