Public urged to see practice nurse before travelling amid high enteric fever cases

The public is being reminded to visit their practice nurse before travelling abroad amid high enteric fever cases.

Latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found a rise in travel-associated typhoid fever and paratyphoid cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There were 702 cases of such fever in 2024 – an 8% increase from 2023 when 645 cases were recorded.

This marks the highest number of cases recorded annually to date, the government agency noted.

And it has urged travellers to consult their practice nurse, GP, pharmacist or travel clinical ‘at least four to six weeks before their trip’ for individual advice and travel vaccines.

What is typhoid and paratyphoid fever?

Typhoid and paratyphoid fever are severe preventable illnesses caused by Salmonella bacteria.

They are usually spread via contaminated food or water and in the UK most cases of enteric fever are acquired abroad, usually in regions with poor hygiene and sanitation, the UKHSA said.

Recent monitoring has found a rise in antibiotic-resistant typhoid in Pakistan, which reduces the effectiveness of the antibiotics commonly used to treat the conditions and increases the risk of complications.

While a free typhoid vaccination is available from GP surgeries for some travellers, no vaccine currently exists for paratyphoid.

Malaria and dengue fever

Provisional data currently shows that imported malaria cases also remain high in the UK, despite a slight decrease in diagnoses to 1,812 in 2024 from 2,106 in 2023.

There were fewer imported dengue fever cases reported in the first quarter of 2025 compared to last year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – with 65 recorded cases in the first three months of 2025, compared to 254 cases in 2024.

Most cases are linked with travel to Thailand, Brazil and Indonesia and the number of recorded cases has risen ‘substantially’ in the past five years, the UKHSA added.

According to government data, there were 904 reported dengue cases among returning travellers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2024. This was up from 631 in 2023.

Dr Philip Veal, consultant in public health at UKHSA, said: ‘We are seeing high levels of infections such as malaria and typhoid in returning travellers.

‘It is important that travellers remain alert and plan ahead of going abroad – even if you’re visiting friends and relatives abroad or it’s somewhere you visit often.’

Dr Diana Ayoola Mabayoje, co-founder of African Diaspora Malaria Initiative (ADMI), described how ‘most’ UK malaria cases occur in Black African people returning from travel to Africa.

The ADMI is launching an ‘Africans Against Malaria’ campaign which will target the perceptions, beliefs, and behaviours that ‘hinder malaria prevention uptake amongst the UK African diaspora’ and signpost where to obtain preventative malaria treatment.