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The World Health Organization announced Friday that there is no more oral cholera vaccine left in global stockpiles, and the shortage is jeopardizing efforts to stop the spread of the disease.
The U.N. health agency said in its monthly status report that global vaccine production is running at full capacity, but demand is outstripping supply.
“As of October 14, the global stockpile of oral cholera vaccines has been depleted and there are no doses remaining,” WHO said.
“While more doses are expected in the coming weeks, this shortage poses significant challenges to epidemic response efforts and is hampering efforts to curb the spread of the disease.”
The WHO announced that between September 1 and October 14, the International Coordination Group for Vaccine Supply received requests for oral cholera vaccines from Bangladesh, Sudan, Niger, Ethiopia, and Myanmar.
Requests totaled 8.4 million doses, but only 7.6 million were able to be shipped due to limited availability.
Rapid increase in death toll
The WHO announced that as of September 29 this year, 439,724 cholera cases and 3,432 deaths had been reported.
“While the number of infections in 2024 is 16% lower than last year, it is extremely worrying that the number of deaths has jumped 126%,” the report said.
The WHO said part of the reason for the increased death rate could be the location of the outbreak.
This includes conflict-affected and flood-affected areas where access to health care is severely impaired.
Since last month’s report, new cholera outbreaks have been reported in Niger (705 cases, 17 deaths) and Thailand (5 cases, no deaths), bringing the total number of affected countries to 30 in 2024. WHO has announced that it will reach .
In September, 47,234 new cholera cases were reported from 14 countries.
And this month, cases of cholera were confirmed in war-hit Lebanon, with the World Health Organization warning that the risk of further spread was “very high” due to deteriorating sanitary conditions among many displaced people.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection spread through food and water, often feces, contaminated with Vibrio cholerae.
Causes severe diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps.
Cholera can be fatal within hours if untreated, but more severe cases can be treated with simple oral rehydration and antibiotics.
In April, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance and the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said South Korean company Eubiologics was currently the only supplier of oral cholera vaccines to the global stockpile, but other manufacturers were expected to have the product available in the coming years. Announced.
© 2024 AFP
Citation: World cholera vaccine stockpile empty: WHO (2024, October 19) Retrieved October 19, 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-10-world-cholera-vaccine-stockpile.html
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