Vaccines likely to be available for mass vaccination are effective only against those Salmonella strains that bear the Vi polysaccharide capsule protein. Strains that do not have these capsule proteins, or have no capsule, will not be affected by vaccination and could 'fill' the space vacated by the capsulated strains. Indeed, enteric fever caused by S. Paratyphi A which does not carry the Vi protein, has risen during the past decade and accounts for more than half of all cases in some areas. Thus it is important that effective vaccines are available to protect against infection by both capsulated and noncapsulated Salmonella enterica. To develop such vaccines, we need a complete understanding of the human immune response to both types, including the contribution of immunity in the gut and the bloodstream, immune response to bacterial surface proteins, and the role of antibodies. How much cross-protection there is between the types of typhoidal Salmonellae after natural infection or vaccination is not known, but this is critical to vaccine development.