The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday made an urgent appeal to increase the production of cholera vaccines, the quantities of which are insufficient at the moment, given their demand by dozens of countries.
"The (health) response continues to suffer from the critical shortage of vaccines," explained Dr. Tedros Andanom Ghebreyesus via X.
"Demand continues to outstrip supply, with 105 million doses requested by 18 countries as of January 2023" while "55 million doses were produced during this period," he explained.
The WHO is calling for further investment to increase vaccine production and is asking all states to also invest in water and sanitation systems, as well as emergency preparedness, to avoid new outbreaks, Dr. Tree.
Given the number of outbreaks and their geographic spread, as well as the lack of vaccines and other resources, the WHO continues to call the global risk "very high," according to its monthly cholera epidemiological bulletin released yesterday.
From January 1 to July 28, 307.433 cholera cases and 2.326 deaths were recorded in 26 countries, according to WHO data.
The Eastern Mediterranean region continues to record the highest numbers, followed by the African region, the Southeast Asian region, the American region and the European region. No outbreaks were reported during this period in the western Pacific Ocean region.
Cholera, which is spread through contaminated food or water and contaminated feces containing the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, causes acute diarrhea and dehydration and can lead to death within hours without treatment.
Source: protothema.gr