A "devastating emerging disease" that kills tens of thousands of people each year has prompted Otago researchers to call for urgent investment in its prevention.
Non-typhoidal Salmonella invasive disease is an emerging neglected infectious disease that affects mainly young children and immunocompromised adults in sub-Saharan Africa.
University of Otago department of preventive and social medicine Prof John Crump and Otago Centre for International Health Dr Christian Marchello said it affected more than half a million people each year and was fatal in 15% of cases — about 77,500 deaths worldwide annually.
The duo led a global systematic review which investigated the complications and mortality associated with the disease.
The research consortium, which had 12 partners from eight countries, aimed to advance the clinical development of an innovative vaccine to tackle the disease.
"Despite being a leading serious bacterial disease in countries of sub-Saharan Africa, non-typhoidal Salmonella invasive disease is not widely known or appreciated, and burden of disease estimates need improving," Prof Crump said.
In high-income countries such as New Zealand, non-typhoidal Salmonella is best known as a cause of food poisoning, where patients usually recover without treatment.
"In sub-Saharan Africa, young children and immunocompromised adults are infected in the bowel but do not usually get diarrhoea.
"Instead, because of concurrent health problems like malnutrition, malaria, HIV, and other reasons that are not well understood, many people get invasion to the blood and very serious illness called blood poisoning or sepsis, that often leads to death."
He said the Vacc-iNTS Consortium was working on phase one trials of a candidate vaccine, but global support, funding and awareness was needed.
"Our study has shown that a range of very serious complications are frequent among non-typhoidal Salmonella invasive disease patients, and the disease has a 15% fatality ratio.
"If you compare this case fatality ratio with 0.2% for malaria and 2% for typhoid fever, we start to appreciate how deadly non-typhoidal Salmonella invasive disease is, and why we must do more to prevent transmission," he said.
