Christine LuxemburgerChau Minh DucMai Ngoc LanhJohn WainTran Tinh HienJulie A. SimpsonLe Hoang KamNguyen Thi Tu ThuyNicholas J. WhiteJeremy J. FarrarCentre for Tropical Diseases VietnamNuffield Department of Clinical MedicineProvincial Hospital of Dong ThapMahidol UniversityJohn Radcliffe Hospital2018-09-072018-09-072001-01-01Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Vol.95, No.1 (2001), 19-23003592032-s2.0-18244386031https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/26595In order to identify risk factors for typhoid fever in a highly endemic area, we undertook a case-control study in the Mekong delta, Viet Nam. Cases were 144 consecutive patients admitted to hospital with blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever. Two controls (1 in the hospital and 1 in the community) were chosen for each case. Standardized interviews were conducted with questions regarding recent contact with a typhoid fever patient, eating habits, hygiene and socio-economic level. Cases were more likely to have been in contact with a patient with typhoid fever than hospital controls (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 5.2, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 1.7-15.9) or community controls (adjusted OR = 11.9, 95% CI 2.3-60.7); 11% and 14% of typhoid fever cases (compared to hospital or community controls, respectively) were attributable to recent contact with a patient with this disease. These findings suggest that strategies directed towards the persons in contact with a patient might reduce the incidence of secondary cases of typhoid fever.Mahidol UniversityImmunology and MicrobiologyMedicineArticleSCOPUS10.1016/S0035-9203(01)90318-9