WE NEED NEW DRUGS: Ancient Killer Is Rapidly Gaining Resistance to Antibiotics, Scientists Warn. “Despite having plagued humans for millennia, typhoid fever is rarely considered a threat in developed countries today. But this ancient killer 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.”