NAIROBI – Africa’s health agency says countries with deadly cholera outbreaks on the continent do not have “immediate access” to vaccines in the face of a global supply shortage.
Acting director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ahmed Ogwell told journalists on Thursday that the agency is working with the World Health Organization and vaccine alliance GAVI on ways to get more doses.
The Africa CDC is also working with two local manufacturers to study whether their facilities can be repurposed to make cholera vaccines, Ogwell said. He didn’t say which.
WHO and its partners October recommended that countries are temporarily switching to using a single dose of the cholera vaccine instead of two due to supply shortages as outbreaks of the waterborne disease increase around the world. They said one dose of vaccine has been shown to be effective in stopping outbreaks, “although the evidence on the exact duration of protection is limited” and appears to be lower in children.
The WHO has established this Haiti And Syria also try to contain large outbreaks. WHO and partner organizations maintain a stockpile of cholera vaccines that are given free to countries that need them.
Malawi in southern Africa in particular is fighting a cholera outbreak. The country recorded 3,577 new cases over the past week, including 111 deaths, Ogwell said. They account for the majority of new cholera cases on the continent.
Since the beginning of 2023, 27,300 new cases of cholera have emerged in five African countries, including 687 deaths, Ogwell said.
The WHO has said climate change could make cholera epidemics more common because the bacteria that cause the disease can multiply faster in warmer water.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
