In a recent study, a group of researchers have developed a high-dose cholera vaccine for controlling outbreaks.

The vaccine, named Vaxchora, is a single-dose, live-attenuated oral vaccine. It was approved in 2016 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in adults (18-64 years). The scientists assessed the effectiveness (ability to stimulate vibriocidal antibody, an immune response that correlates with protection) of a single high-dose of live cholera vaccine CVD 103-HgR. While the two-dose inactivated vaccine approach has been used and made available for protecting against seasonal increases in cholera cases, a stronger single-dose live oral vaccine approach may be a more effective way to rapidly protect individuals in big outbreaks, the study suggested.

Talking about the study, Myron M Levine, MD, DTPH, the Simon and Bessie Grollman Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Global Health, Vaccinology and Infectious Disease at UMSOM and senior author in the study, noted, “Immunisation 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.” 

He added, “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.” Cholera transmission is endemic in many areas of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. In severe cases, patients pass large amounts of diarrhoea that causes rapid dehydration and ultimately death if left untreated. The study was published in the journal Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.