WHO prequalifies first typhoid conjugate vaccine for children under 2

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently prequalified the first typhoid conjugate vaccine on Wednesday that’s been shown to boost immune response typhoid in infants as young as six months old.

Prequalification of the typhoid conjugate vaccine, called Typbar-TCV, allows procurement agencies working with WHO, UNICEF and the United Nations to purchase it. Additionally, prequalification will make funding available through the Vaccine Alliance, which recently approved $85 million in support for typhoid vaccines.

“The prequalification of the first typhoid conjugate vaccine is a major advancement for child health,” Kathy Neuzil, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said. “Typbar-TCV can be incorporated into routine vaccination schedules, giving us the best chance to reach children most at risk for this devastating disease.”

Typbar-TCV is the first typhoid vaccine approved for use on children younger than two. It also requires fewer doses and has proven to protect patients longer than current typhoid vaccines on the market.

“(Wednesday’s) announcement is an important step toward our goal of addressing the high burden of typhoid in children,” said Anita Zaidi, director of the Vaccine Development, Surveillance, and Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases teams at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “For too long, this disease, which invariably affects the world’s poorest people, has been neglected in efforts to improve global health. With this new vaccine — the first-ever to be safe for infants — countries will finally be able to protect millions of children who are most vulnerable to this deadly disease.”

Nearly 12 million cases of typhoid result in nearly 128,000 deaths around the world each year. Children and young adults in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are primarily affected.

“(Wednesday’s) pre-qualification means that this lifesaving typhoid vaccine will soon start making its way to the people who need it most,” Bruce Gellin, president of Global Immunization at the Sabin Vaccine Institute, said. “For communities where typhoid is common and drug-resistant strains of typhoid are increasing, this presents an opportunity to protect children and adults, save lives and curb dangerous antimicrobial resistance.”