Study Estimates 49 Lakh Cases Of Typhoid Fever In India In 2023

2026-01-08 09:03:28

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) New Delhi- A study has estimated 49 lakh cases of typhoid fever and 7,850 deaths in India in 2023, with Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka together accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the national burden.

Findings published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia also show that six lakh of the 7.3 lakh hospitalisations across the country were attributable to fluoroquinolone-resistance - a type of antibiotic, or antimicrobial, resistance.

Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that spreads through contaminated food and water. Symptoms can start one to three weeks following exposure and include high fever, headaches, abdominal pain and fatigue. Treatment involves antibiotics and supportive care.

Researchers, including those from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, found that the states of Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka also had the highest rates of fluoroquinolone-resistant cases and deaths among the ten highest-burden states.

The authors“estimated 4.9 million typhoid cases and 7,850 deaths in India in 2023”.

“Delhi, Maharashtra, and Karnataka together accounted for 29 per cent of the national burden and had the highest rates of fluoroquinolone-resistant cases and deaths among the ten highest-burden states,” they said.

“Fluoroquinolone-resistance drives a large share of typhoid-related hospitalisations and deaths, especially in children under five and in high-burden states of India,” the team said.

The researchers reviewed studies published up to July 2025 that carried data on typhoid fever incidence, mortality and antibiotic resistance.

A persistently high fluoroquinolone-resistance was found (more than 60 per cent), steadily increasing from 1989 to 2024 and peaking at 94 per cent in 2017.

Resistance to third-generation cephalosporin and azithromycin - both common and effective first-line antibiotics used for treating typhoid fever - remained consistently low and multidrug resistance steadily declined over the last three decades, the team said.

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