The Severe Typhoid in Africa Program (SETA) aims to implement a surveillance program that will allow for the collection of data on typhoid through a comprehensive integrated design in several sites across sub Saharan Africa. The program employs a combination of active and passive surveillance activities for febrile diseases at tertiary, secondary, and primary healthcare facilities where clinical and microbiological data are collected from suspected Typhoid Fever (TF) and invasive Non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) febrile patients. In addition to TF and iNTS, the etiology of fever caused by paratyphoid fever (PF), other invasive bacteria and malaria parasites, are also being investigated. The program is also evaluating the novel diagnostic assays to detect TF, iNTS, and PF. Apart from the main active laboratory based activities, the programme is also investigating the utilization of healthcare services and documenting verbal autopsy reports from relative of patients who have died of typhoid.

The main aim of SETA is to generate Typhoid Fever (TF) and invasive Non Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease burden and immunological data to drive vaccine development and inform evidence-based prevention and control policy (including vaccine policy) in sub Saharan Africa.