A newly revived vaccine may deal a death blow to typhoid fever

ABACTERIUMXDR called travels from host to host in contaminated food and water. Thanks to better mains and drains its excursions have been curtailed in rich countries. But the disease that it causes—typhoid fever—is still common in places where modernity has not fully made its mark. In these parts between 11m and 20m people fall ill with typhoid every year. Of those 160,000, mostly children, die.Typhoid fever can be treated with antibiotics, but this line of defence is starting to fail as extensively drug resistant () bugs are spreading rapidly and alarmingly in Pakistan. Existing vaccines provide only temporary protection to adults and do not work in children. What is needed is a new and better vaccine. And one is now at hand, courtesy of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a big charity.