Abstract
Approximately 25% of Salmonella typhi infections in the US occur among nontravelers. Two S. typhi infections in a major US metropolitan city acquired domestically in 2005 were epidemiologically linked to a S. typhi-infected Haitian traveler through their congregation meetings. This investigation highlighted the importance of integrating multiple methods of obtaining epidemiologic information, including laboratory evidence and multiple individual and group interviews. Physicians should consider typhoid fever in their differential diagnosis in communities with close ties to endemic areas. Education of communities whose residents travel regularly to typhoid-endemic areas can reduce infection and transmission risk.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Bun Tha at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Public Health Laboratory for her PFGE subtyping work. We also appreciate the critical review of this manuscript by Lorna Thorpe, Marci Layton and Julie Magri. The authors do not have an association that might pose a conflict of interest. This publication was supported by Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreement Number 5U50CI223667 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Nguyen, T.Q., Reddy, V., Sahl, S. et al. Importance of Travel in Domestically Acquired Typhoid Fever Infections: Opportunities for Prevention and Early Detection. J Immigrant Minority Health 11, 139–142 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-008-9155-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-008-9155-1