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Extensively drug-resistant typhoid — DTM&H MCQ

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HardTropical bacterial infectionsExtensively drug-resistant typhoidDTM&H

A UK clinician receives a blood-culture report confirming Salmonella Typhi in a returned traveller. Appropriate treatment is being arranged. What additional action is required?

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Correct answer: CNotify the proper officer via the health-protection team for statutory follow-up

The best answer is “Notify the proper officer via the health-protection team for statutory follow-up”. Typhoid and paratyphoid are statutorily notifiable in the UK; prompt health-protection involvement enables risk assessment, exclusion advice and contact investigation. Notification is not conditional on clearance cultures, secondary transmission or antimicrobial resistance, and the statutory duty provides the lawful basis for proportionate information sharing. Resistant or complicated isolates additionally warrant reference-laboratory and specialist advice.

Reference: UKHSA, Public health operational guidelines for typhoid and paratyphoid: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/typhoid-and-paratyphoid-public-health-operational-guidelines/public-health-operational-guidelines-for-typhoid-and-paratyphoid-enteric-fever