In April 2024 WHO announced that a new oral vaccine for cholera has received prequalification during what has been described as an “unprecedented multi-year upsurge” in cases. In March 2024 the ICG on Vaccine Provision demanded immediate, multi-sectoral efforts in the fight against cholera as pressure on the vaccine stockpile grew. The new inactivated oral vaccine, Euvichol-S, has a “similar efficacy” to vaccines that are currently available, but a “simplified formulation”. It is hoped that this will create opportunities to “rapidly increase production capacity”.
WHO underscores the importance of vaccination:
“Vaccines provide the fastest intervention to prevent, limit, and control cholera outbreaks but supplies have been at the lowest point amidst countries facing dire shortcomings in other areas of cholera prevention and management such as safe water, hygiene, and sanitation.”
A vaccine family
Dr Rogerio Gaspar, Director of the WHO Department for Regulation and Prequalification, described the latest vaccine as the “third product in the same family of vaccines” that are prequalified by WHO for use against cholera.
“The new prequalification is hoped to enable a rapid increase in production and supply which many communities battling with cholera outbreaks urgently need.”
The prequalification list already includes Euvichol and Euvichol-Plus. These are inactivated oral cholera vaccines and are produced by EuBiologicals Co from the Republic of Korea, which has also produced the new vaccine.
The growing need
WHO states that in 2022 473,000 cases of cholera were reported; this is double the figure reported in 2021. A further increase of cases was estimated by 700,000 in 2023. There are 23 countries reporting cholera outbreaks. The current global risk is considered to be “very high”, with WHO “responding with urgency to reduce deaths and contain outbreaks”.
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