Sanitation and hygiene are the critical measures that can be taken to prevent typhoid. Typhoid does not affect animals and therefore transmission is only from human to human.
Typhoid can only spread in environments where human feces or urine are able to come into contact with food or drinking water. Careful food preparation and washing of hands are crucial to preventing typhoid.
A vaccine against typhoid fever was developed during World War II by Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff.
There are two vaccines currently recommended by the World Health Organization for the prevention of typhoid: these are the live, oral Ty21a vaccine (sold as ''Vivotif Berna'') and the injectable Typhoid polysaccharide vaccine (sold as ''Typhim Vi'' by Sanofi Pasteur and ''Typherix'' by GlaxoSmithKline). Both are between 50% to 80% protective and are recommended for travelers to areas where typhoid is endemic. Boosters are recommended every 5 years for the oral vaccine and every 2 years for the injectable form.
There exists an older killed whole-cell vaccine that is still used in countries where the newer preparations are not available, but this vaccine is no longer recommended for use, because it has a higher rate of side effects (mainly pain and inflammation at the site of the injection).
Further Reading
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"Typhoid fever"
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