The World Health Organisation has prequalified a new oral vaccine for cholera, the inactivated Euvichol-S having a similar efficacy to existing vaccines but being a simplified formulation, enabling faster, increased production capacity.
Dr Rogerio Gaspar, director of the WHO Department for Regulation and Prequalification, said this was the third product from the same family of vaccines for cholera on the agency's prequalification list.
It includes Euvichol and Euvichol-Plus, produced by EuBiologicals in South Korea, which also produces the new treatment.
Vaccines provide the fastest intervention to prevent, limit and control cholera outbreaks but supplies have been at the lowest point amid countries facing dire shortages in other areas of cholera prevention and management – like safe water, hygiene and sanitation.
There were 473 000 cholera cases reported to WHO in 2022, double the number from 2021.
A further increase of 700 000 cases was estimated for 2023. Currently, 23 countries are experiencing outbreaks, the most severe being in the Comoros, DRC, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Somalia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
WHO article – WHO prequalifies new oral simplified vaccine for cholera (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
New cholera vaccine-makers gearing up as global stocks run out
Cholera vaccine shortage a global crisis
Desperate countries face world shortage of 50m cholera vaccines
Zimbabwe declares state of emergency over cholera outbreak