Brits abroad are bringing back typhoid

New figures show a 69 per cent increase in the number of typhoid cases, which experts are suggesting is a result of the rising amount of people heading off to exotic locations without being properly vaccinated.

A new study by the Health Protection Agency has shown that nearly two-thirds of people polled did not know that typhoid could be prevented by vaccination.

The research also revealed that there had been a jump in the number of recorded cases of Typhoid in England and Wales from 147 in 2002 to 248 in 2006.

"The level of public ignorance exposed by these results is extremely worrying," said Dr Jane Zuckerman, director of the Centre for Travel Medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in north London.

"We have seen vaccine-preventable diseases like typhoid on the increase because people travel abroad to endemic areas without being vaccinated and return sick to the UK."

The poll was conducted for the Valuing Vaccines campaign which is being fronted by actor and presenter Tony Robinson.