*WASHINGTON – The US has issued a warning for people visiting friends orrelatives in Pakistan after an outbreak of typhoid fever that does notrespond to most antibiotics.*

The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued the level-2alert, asking travelers to “practice enhanced precautions”. So far thisyear, three cases of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid fever havebeen reported among travelers going back from Pakistan, two in the US andone in the UK.

While the CDC has warned that all travelers to Pakistan are at risk ofgetting XDR typhoid fever, it said that people visiting friends orrelatives are at higher risk than tourists and business travelers. Itadvised travelers visiting South Asia to get vaccinated against typhoidfever and urged them to practice safe eating and drinking habits.

Usually, the typhoid fever can easily be treated with antibiotics. However,the XDR strain of Salmonella Typhi that began in Hyderabad in November2016, and has now spread to Karachi and many adjoining districts, isresistant to most antibiotics used to treat typhoid fever. Several deathshave been reported so far.