Typhoid detected in detainees on Australia's Christmas Island

The Australian Federal Government has stopped flights from Christmas Island to mainland Australia after typhoid fever was detected in detainees on the island, local media reported on Monday. The Australian Immigration Department confirmed on Sunday that two recently arrived Indonesian crew members from separate asylum boats had been diagnosed with the contagious disease, The Australian newspaper reported. The Immigration Department and health authorities are working to minimize the risk of an outbreak, according to the paper. Typhoid is a bacterial disease that causes symptoms such as fever, headache, rash and vomiting. It is rarely seen in Australia Christmas Island's deputy administrator Catherine Wildermuth told local residents in a newsletter that the risk of typhoid being passed on the community was very low, The Australian reported.