Quantcast
ZME Science
  • CoronavirusNEW
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Health & Medicine Diseases

Vietnamese Oral Vaccine for Cholera is highly effective in Africa

livia rusu by livia rusu
June 24, 2014
in Diseases, News

A new, inexpensive and easy to use vaccine developed in Vietnam worked very well during a cholera outbreak in Africa, Doctors Without Borders reported.

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is generally transmitted through through food or water. In the developed world, the main cause is sea food, but cholera is most dangerous in the less developed world – especially in Africa, where it is spread through water. Cholera affects 3–5 million people worldwide every year. Needless to say, a vaccine (especially a cheap one) would do wonders.

ADVERTISEMENT

This is where Shanchol kicks in. Shanchol was invented in Vietnam and produced in India, and it provided 86 percent protection against cholera. The study documenting the efficiency was conducted by Epicentre, the research arm of Doctors Without Borders, and the Health Ministry of Guinea; it was published in The New England Journal of Medicine last month found.

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

Until now, one of the main medicines against Cholera was Dukoral, made by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. However, Dukoral costs over $5 and was generally aimed at the developed world. It is also highly acidic, so it should also be taken with a glass of alkaline soda to protect the stomach.

However, on the other hand, Shanchol is almost 3 times cheaper, costing less than $2, it comes in a small vial, it’s easier to produce, and it doesn’t have any adverse effects on the body. If produced in sufficiently large quantities, it could even go below the $1.

ADVERTISEMENT

The vaccine was developed in a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It took quite a while for the WHO to incorporate cholera vaccines (2010), but now, this seems like the clear way to go. Cheap, easy to produce and take vaccines could do wonders and save over a hundred thousand lives every year.

Scientific Reference: Francisco J. Luquero et al. Use of Vibrio cholerae Vaccine in an Outbreak in Guinea.  Engl J Med 2014; 370:2111-2120May 29, 2014 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1312680

Tags: choleraDoctors Without Bordersvaccine
livia rusu

livia rusu

Livia's main interests are people, and how they think. Having a background in marketing and sociology, she is in love with social sciences, and has a lot of insight and experience on how humans and societies work. She is also focused on how humans interact with technology.

Follow ZME on social media

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.