Typhoid Vaccine - Oral and Injectable

World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the below mentioned vaccines for Typhoid:

1.     An injectable polysaccharide vaccine based on the purified Vi antigen (known as Vi-PS vaccine)

2.     A live attenuated oral Ty21a vaccine currently available in capsules for those over five years of age. Both the vaccines are available internationally and are considered safe and effective.

Regular and Booster dose of Typhoid Vaccine

Oral vaccines need four doses, given 2 days apart, to be protective, and a booster dose is needed every 5 years for people who remain at risk. A single dose of the injectable vaccine provides protection, but a booster dose is needed every 2 years for people who remain at risk.

Typhoid Vaccine for infants and children - Typhoid vaccine can now be given to infants as old as 9 months!

 Since my son was 8 months old when I contracted Typhoid, and the Typhoid vaccines for children at that time (August 2014) was only available for children over 2 years, I was very worried for my son. Then in October 2014, Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) introduced updates on Typhoid Immunization for infants and added a new slot at 9-12 months of age for typhoid conjugate vaccine for primary immunization. My son's pediatrician  immediately called me and informed me about the same and we got our son vaccinated. The change came in at the right time for me, as at least I didn't have to worry about infecting my son anymore. This change in immunization schedule is not known to many moms. I've seen a few cases of children under 2 being treated for Typhoid in my neighborhood, though I did not come across chronic cases of Typhoid in children yet - all of them had the regular Typhoid and recovered in under a month. If you have a baby and are worried about Typhoid, ask your pediatrician about this change in immunization schedule for Typhoid (refer to the details published by Indian Academy of Pediatrics here)

Side effects of Typhoid Vaccine

1.     Soreness at the injection site - pain, redness and swelling is almost always there. Of the 6 people in my family that took the vaccination, 4 complained of soreness and pain.

2.     Feverish feeling and tiredness - this was also witnessed by all of us, lasted for a day.

3.     Nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea - this is one of the uncommon side effects, none of us came down with these. My father did have several loose stools but he has a sensitive digestive system and we don't know for sure if the Typhoid shot caused it.