#paratyphoid-fever

#paratyphoid-fever

In children below the age of five, whose immune systems are still developing, the infections can lead to malnourishment; they cause up to 42,000 deaths annually. Soon there may be a vaccine to protect against these infections. In the Lancet Infectious Diseases last month, scientists shared the results of the first study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an ETEC-controlling vaccine in a large pediatric population in Gambia.

There is little doubt that this is what African countries need if they are serious about universal health coverage - ensuring that every member of their populations has access to this fundamental human right. But such an approach has never been implemented in Africa. Some of the reasons for this are outlined in a report on health financing by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the continent's public-health agency based in Addis Ababa, published last week (see go.nature.com/3o9wxfc).

Tuberculosis is a bacteria that usually attacks the lungs, infecting the air sacs where they multiply and spread. If the infection is not contained by the body's immune response, the bacteria destroys lung tissue which can trigger chest pain and coughing up of mucus or blood. Eventually, infection can spread throughout the body via the bloodstream, often to the kidneys, liver and heart muscles.