A child receives an oral polio vaccine. Uganda plans to undertake a mass oral cholera vaccination. FILE PHOTO | AFP
As Uganda battles to control a cholera outbreak that has so far
killed 44 Congolese refugees in the Lake Albert region, the Ministry of
Health says it will undertake a mass oral vaccination starting next
month.
This will be the first time Uganda is using the
Oral Cholera Vaccine since the World Health Organisation established a
stockpile of the vaccine for use in 2013.
The WHO
recommends that vaccination against cholera be considered in emergencies
and other high-risk scenarios where there is increased threat of
outbreaks.
It also comes at a time when several countries across Africa are battling cholera that has left hundreds of people dead.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within a few hours if left untreated.
Dr
Charles Olaro, the acting director for health services said that for
the first phase of the campaign, 360,000 doses of the vaccine have been
procured with funding support from the WHO, the UN Children’s Fund and
the Vaccine Alliance.
Those targeted for vaccination are residents of the five
sub-counties of Hoima District and refugees from the Kyanggwali refugee
settlement, which hosts mostly Congolese refugees.
The
drive will then be extended in the last half of the year to the
districts of Buliisa, Packwach, Nebbi, Kasese, Ntoroko, Zombo, Moyo,
Busia, Namayingo and Arua.
Dr Olaro said the vaccine reduces an individual’s risk of getting sick or dying of cholera.
“The
vaccine is administered orally to anyone above the age of one. It is
administered in two doses, which are given two weeks apart and protects
the recipients for up to five years at a time,” said Dr Olaro added.
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