Cholera Vaccination Post-Outbreak Beneficial

• Mass cholera vaccinations can be beneficial in affected areas even after outbreaks of the bacterial disease, according to two studies by researchers from the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute (IVI).

• Results of the studies recently appeared in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

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• Experts say the findings are especially significant in light of the outbreak of cholera, known as “the poor man’s disease,” in Haiti, which was hit by a massive earthquake in January 2010. Clean water and adequate sanitation are very essential.

• But they are yet to become a reality in many countries even after many decades.

Role Less Clear

According to an Editorial published in the same issue of the journal, the role played by cholera vaccine once an outbreak has started is less clear. Every year, three to five million people are infected with the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, the causative agent of cholera. In one of the studies, an oral vaccine containing killed cholera pathogens that was administered during a cholera outbreak in Hanoi three years ago had protective efficacy of 76 per cent.

• Reactive use of killed oral cholera vaccines provides protection against the disease and may be a potential tool in times of outbreaks. Further studies must be conducted to confirm these,” the study’s authors wrote.

• Another study evaluated the potential benefit of reactive cholera vaccination campaigns using existing data from cholera outbreaks to simulate the number of preventable cholera cases.

• “Even a delayed response can save a substantial number of cases and deaths in long, drawn-out outbreaks,” the authors of the study wrote. — DPA

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