An ancient killer has plagued humans for millennia. Although it's rarely considered a threat in developed countries today, it seems this long-term villain is still very much a danger in our modern world. Research published in 2022 revealed the bacterium that causes typhoid fever is evolving extensive drug resistance, and is rapidly replacing strains that aren't resistant. Currently, antibiotics are the only effective treatment for typhoid, caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi). Yet over the past three decades, the bacterium's resistance to oral antibiotics has been growing and spreading. In their study, scientists from multiple countries sequenced the genomes of 3,489 S. Typhi strains contracted from 2014 to 2019 in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, and found a rise in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Typhi. Watch the video below for a summary of the study: frameborder="0″ allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen> XDR Typhi is not only impervious to frontline antibiotics, like ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, but it is also growing resistant to newer antibiotics, like fluoroquinolones and third-generation cephalosporins. Even worse, these strains are spreading globally at a rapid rate. While most XDR Typhi cases stem from South Asia, researchers have identified nearly...