Epidemiology of typhoid and paratyphoid fever hospitalizations in Spain (1997-2005)

Abstract

Background and Objective: This epidemiological survey was undertaken to estimate the burden of hospitalizations for typhoid and paratyphoid fever in Spain over a nine-year period (1997-2005).Patients and Methods: Hospital discharges for typhoid or paratyphoid fever reported during a nine-year period in Spanish hospitals were obtained from the national surveillance system for hospital data, which is maintained by the Ministry of Health and covers more than 97% of Spanish hospitals.Results: There were 1,106 hospitalizations for typhoid and paratyphoid fever during the study period. The annual hospitalization rate was 0.31 cases per 100,000 population. The mortality and case fatality rates were 0.003 per 100,000 population and 0.9%, respectively. The average length of hospitalization was 10.19 days. These hospitalizations impose an annual direct cost of € 334,000.Conclusions Preventive measures are vital to reduce the occurrence of typhoid fever and avoid new outbreaks. Effective prevention would result in large cost savings to the National Health Care System.