US researchers have developed a single dose cholera vaccine that could be an effective tool in controlling outbreaks more quickly
The research published in Clinical and Vaccine Immunology was conducted in Mali by researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). Researchers assessed the effectiveness of a single high-dose of live cholera vaccine CVD 103-HgR, which was developed by UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and licensed and manufactured by PaxVax, versus the standard two-dose killed vaccine approach.
“Immunization with a single-dose cholera vaccine that could rapidly protect people in low-income countries who have not previously been exposed to cholera would be a significant asset in helping control outbreaks and lower mortality rates. Given the highly encouraging results, we envision that as a matter of priority high-dose CVD 103-HgR will now be evaluated more completely in low income countries menaced by cholera,” said Myron M. Levine Simon and Bessie Grollman Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Global Health, Vaccinology and Infectious Disease at UMSOM and senior author in the study.
Immunization with a single-dose cholera vaccine that could rapidly protect people in low-income countries who have not previously been exposed to cholera
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated. World Health Organisation estimates that each year there are 1.3 million to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21 000 to 143 000 deaths worldwide due to cholera. It is a big public health problem in India too. In a 2012 study in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, it was reported that 11 of the 28 States are endemic for cholera. “The States which sent strains in consecutive three years in any block were Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Highest number of strains were received from Maharashtra, followed by West Bengal, and the pathogen was isolated every year during the study period. No strains were submitted from Puducherry in this period. From 2004 onwards, the new States entering in the cholera map were Kerala and Sikkim,” the study noted.
