PRACTICAL EVALUATION OF A PILOT IMMUNIZATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST TYPHOID FEVER IN A CAMBODIAN REFUGEE CAMP

SUMMARY An epidemic outbreak of typhoid fever in the largest refugee camp of the besieged capital of Phom‐Penh, Cambodia; the concomitant lack of personal and public hygiene and the availability of a locally manufactured Tetanus‐Typhoid‐Paratyphoid vaccine, prompted us to test the practicability of a mass immunization campaign by carrying out a trial in the smaller, well delineated refugee camp of Pochentong. Attendances by adults as well as children throughout the three or four inoculation rounds showed a steady decline with only 30 (20%) of the people completing the course. The general initial acceptance by the people on the other hand was good, due to a comprehensive service (information, health education and individual care of patients). It is concluded from these results that multi‐injection immunization campaigns against typhoid‐paratyphoid are a waste of money in a war‐torn situation with an unstable population.