Malawi Launches Nationwide Rollout of Typhoid Vaccine for Children

Malawi Launches Nationwide Rollout of Typhoid Vaccine for Children

(IN BRIEF) Malawi has initiated a nationwide rollout of the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV), making it available for all children under 15. This move follows successful vaccine trials in the country, where over 7 million children received the TCV. The vaccine, a significant advancement in typhoid prevention, has demonstrated increased efficacy compared to older vaccines, with trials showing it to be 84% effective in preventing typhoid episodes. Led by the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme (MLW), the trials involved over 28,000 children and have paved the way for national rollouts in Malawi and other African nations. The vaccine is being included as part of routine immunization for all children. This initiative is especially crucial due to rising multi-drug antibiotic resistance in Africa and Asia.

(PRESS RELEASE) LIVERPOOL, 13-Sep-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — A nationwide rollout of the latest typhoid vaccine for all children under 15 has begun in Malawi.

Following successful vaccine trials in Malawi, more than 7 million children in the country have received Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV), in one of the largest immunisation campaigns ever conducted in the country. The vaccine is now being included as routine for all children going forward.

The first major advance in typhoid vaccines in a generation, TCV can improve immunological responses and memory, and the trials have now proved that they offer increased efficacy over older vaccines, from around 55% to over 80%.

The clinical trials of TCV, led by the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme (MLW), were the first in Africa and showed that the vaccine was 84% effective to prevent episodes of typhoid, and also showed excellent safety and cost-effectiveness. More than 28,000 children living in Malawi participated in the trial, which paved the way for national roll-outs in Malawi and other African countries.

MLW is a partnership between the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, the University of Liverpool and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, with funding from the Wellcome Trust.

The trial followed 10 years of work establishing the pattern and burden of rapidly-spreading Typhoid in Malawi. The need for the vaccine is particularly urgent because of recent increases in multi-drug antibiotic resistance across the continents of Africa and Asia.

The University of Liverpool’s Professor Melita Gordon, head of the Salmonella research group at MLW and a UK NIHR Research Professor said: “I am immensely proud of what has been achieved with our local participants, our teams of health workers, our local scientists, and our longstanding partners in the Malawi Ministry of Health and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences. Our typhoid research over more than a decade is now making a real impact on Malawi’s population health, preventing many illnesses, improving the lives of families, and saving lives. We hope to soon see more countries introduce TCV and help save more lives.”

You can read more about the TCV programme in a blog from Dr Mike Chisema, an Expanded Program on Immunisation manager based in Malawi: https://www.coalitionagainsttyphoid.org/amidst-challenges-malawi-delivers-for-the-children/

The clinical trial of TCV was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and conducted in partnership with the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Financial support for the national roll-out in Malawi was made available through GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance for vaccines in low and middle-income countries.

Media Contacts:

Joanne Carr
Deputy Director of Communications and Public Affairs
T: +44 (0)7825 434900
E: jocarr@liverpool.ac.uk

Catrin Owen
Media Relations Manager – Humanities and Social Sciences
T: +44 (0)7721 834238
E: catrin.owen@liverpool.ac.uk

Sarah Stamper
Media Relations Manager – Science and Engineering
T: +44 (0)7970 247396
E: sarah.stamper@liverpool.ac.uk

Jennifer Morgan
Media Relations Manager – Health and Life Sciences
T: +44 (0)7775 547589
E: J.L.Morgan@liverpool.ac.uk

Alison Cornmell
Media Relations Manager – Health and Life Sciences
T: +44 (0) 7771 700680
E: Alison.Cornmell@liverpool.ac.uk

SOURCE: University of Liverpool