Formative Investigation of Acceptability of Typhoid Vaccine During a Typhoid Fever Outbreak in Neno District, Malawi

Lauren S. Blum Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Holly Dentz Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Felix Chingoli Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Benson Chilima Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Thomas Warne Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Carla Lee Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Terri Hyde Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Jacqueline Gindler Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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James Sejvar Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Eric D. Mintz Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, (NCEZID), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Strengthening Immunization Systems Branch, Global Immunization Division, Center for Global Health (CGH), CDC, Atlanta, Georgia; Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi; Community Health Services Unit, MOH, Lilongwe, Malawi; Global AIDS Program Malawi, Division of Global HIV AIDS, CGH, CDC, Lilongwe, Malawi; Office of the Director, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, NCEZID, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia

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Typhoid fever affects an estimated 22 million people annually and causes 216,000 deaths worldwide. We conducted an investigation in August and September 2010 to examine the acceptability of typhoid vaccine in Neno District, Malawi where a typhoid outbreak was ongoing. We used qualitative methods, including freelisting exercises, key informant and in-depth interviews, and group discussions. Respondents associated illness with exposure to “bad wind,” and transmission was believed to be airborne. Typhoid was considered extremely dangerous because of its rapid spread, the debilitating conditions it produced, the number of related fatalities, and the perception that it was highly contagious. Respondents were skeptical about the effectiveness of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) interventions. The perceived severity of typhoid and fear of exposure, uncertainty about the effectiveness of WaSH measures, and widespread belief in the efficacy of vaccines in preventing disease resulted in an overwhelming interest in receiving typhoid vaccine during an outbreak.

Author Notes

* Address correspondence to Lauren S. Blum, 2130 Dakar Place, Dulles, VA 20189. E-mail: laurensblum@yahoo.com

Financial support: The investigation was funded by the Division of Global Disease Detection and Emergency Response, CGH, CDC.

Authors' addresses: Lauren S. Blum, Dakar, Senegal, E-mail: laurensblum@yahoo.com. Holly Dentz, Center for Global Safe Water, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, E-mail: hollydentz@gmail.com. Felix Chingoli, Neno District Health Office, Neno, Malawi, E-mail: fchingoli@gmail.com. Benson Chilima, Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi, E-mail: bchilima2@yahoo.com. Thomas Warne, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pretoria, South Africa, E-mail: warnet@sa.cdc.gov. Carla Lee, Terri Hyde, and Jacqueline Gindler, Global Immunization Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, E-mails: cel1@cdc.gov, tkh4@cdc.gov, and jsg5@cdc.gov. James Sejvar and Eric D. Mintz, National Center for Emerging Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, E-mails: zea3@cdc.gov and edm1@cdc.gov.

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