Vaccine against Typhoid Fever for Developing Countries

Typhoid is one of the most devastating infectious diseases in developing countries. More than 21 million people get infected worldwide and over 200,000 die every year, with more than 90% of the disease burden being in Asia. In areas at high endemicity, epidemiological data show high disease incidence in young children, indicating that children below 2 years of age should be targeted for vaccination.
 

Unfortunately vaccines currently available for adults do not provide a high level of protection, providing a short-lived protection and, most importantly, they are not effective in small children.
A vaccine against typhoid effective in small children, which could be administered concomitantly with EPI vaccines, at an affordable price is one of the most needed vaccines in the developing countries, especially in Asia.
The Sclavo Vaccines Association is for the first time making possible a collaboration between the Regione Toscana, Siena University Hospital, the University of Siena and the humanitarian vaccine initiative Novartis Vaccine Institute for Global Health: together they will face the great challenges generated by the denial of rightful access to vaccines for every human being. This collaborative project is further explained below.

Project status

The Typhoid Vaccine project supported by the Association has been conceived to protect small children that today are the age class most vulnerable to the deadly consequences of the disease.

The vaccine uses the Vi polysaccharide Salmonella Typhi antigen conjugated with a protein carrier that has the potential to elicit T-cell mediated immunological memory and can effectively be used to immunize infants in developing countries.

The Vaccine has completed Phase 2 clinical trials in India, Pakistan and the Philippines showing that Vi-CRM197 is safe and immunogenic in endemic populations of all ages. Given at 9 months of age, concomitantly with measles vaccine, Vi-CRM197 shows a promise for potential inclusion in EPI schedules of countries endemic for typhoid. Study results have also been published on Lancet.

The vaccine will be produced and made available in Low Income Countries through Biological E, a manufacturer located in India, the country with the highest number of children dying for Typhoid Fever.