[Typhoid fever in Lebanon: epidemiological study]

Typhoid fever is a major public health problem, especially in developing countries. From 2000 through 2008, the infectious disease surveillance unit at the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health received 6148 reports of typhoid cases. A case is considered positive for typhoid or paratyphoid fever when fever of at least 38 degrees C persists for three days, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi or Paratyphi is isolated from blood, bone marrow, or stool. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA v.10 software. The most cases were recorded in 2003 (n=891), followed by 2007 (n=879), while the fewest were recorded in 2005 (n=461). The distribution of typhoid was not homogeneous between age groups: the age group most affected were those aged 20-39 years, followed by those from 10-19 years; those older than 60 years were least affected. Nor was the geographic distribution, by district (combining Nabatieh and the South together), homogeneous. The most affected individuals were in the North (n=2,192), followed by Bekaa (n=1,651) and Mount Lebanon (n= 1,094). Beirut was the least affected, with 210 cases. The results indicate that typhoid fever remains endemic in Lebanon and that the risk of epidemic episodes is still present.