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EL NUEVO DIARIO, GENEVA.- The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the inclusion of a new vaccine, the South Korean Euvichol-S, administered orally, at a time of growing outbreaks, cases and deaths due to the disease worldwide. global.
The new vaccine has a similar effectiveness to that of the existing ones but a more simplified formula, which could allow an increase in the production of these medicines, indicated a WHO statement.
The South Korean laboratory EuBiologicals had already achieved the inclusion in the WHO list of two other oral vaccines against the disease, Euvichol and Euvichol-Plus.
In addition to the EuBiologicals vaccines, the WHO includes two other similar ones on its list, Dukoral and Shanchol, also taken orally.
Last year it is estimated that there were at least 700,000 global cases of cholera, a sharp increase compared to 473,000 in 2022, which already doubled the figures from the previous year.
The increase in the number of deaths worldwide has also been notable, since it went from 2,350 in 2022 to more than 4,000 last year.
Currently, outbreaks of the disease have been detected in 23 countries, with especially serious situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Somalia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Comoros.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that usually spreads through contaminated water and food, so it is typical of places with poor hygienic conditions, often areas shaken by conflict or crisis.
Climate change is a factor that worsens the situation according to the WHO, since many of these outbreaks arise after natural disasters such as floods, cyclones and droughts, due to the reduction in access to drinking water that usually occurs in these circumstances.
