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Mozambican health sector says testing cholera vaccine
8:13 CAT | 16 Mar 2017
Noticias
Mozambique is testing the introduction of a vaccine against cholera, the disease currently affecting Maputo, Tete and Nampula provinces, and likely to spread to other parts of the country.
The vaccine’s impact is currently being tested in Nampula province, considered a high-risk region. The trial is now in its final analysis phase before deciding on its use throughout the country.
“We think that this experience could bring positive results, since the epidemiology of this disease varies. In some places, the transmission can be done from person to person, but in other places it can be done through common sources of contamination. So we will have to see what its epidemiology is and how we can then tailor its application in our country. But all the work has been done to ensure that we can in fact apply the vaccine as soon as it is available for that purpose,” Deputy Minister of Health Mouzinho Saide said.
Speaking yesterday in Maputo at the meeting of the multi-sectoral group made up of representatives from various ministries, cooperation partners, municipalities and government, Mouzinho Saide pointed out that there are availability challenges in introducing the vaccine.
It was necessary to take into account that it is not yet widely available on the market, and that supplies have to be requested from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“It is a WHO candidature process where the candidate countries show the relevance of having the vaccination, and whether there are conditions to that effect. I think that Mozambique has demonstrated over time that it has the conditions to ensure that the vaccine is applied with some quality and that there is adequate monitoring to ensure its success,” the Deputy Minister of Health explained.
The vaccine has been widely used in Sudan and, together with preventive measures such as improved sanitation and collective and individual hygiene measures, has contributed to a reduction of the epidemic there.
Cholera is transmitted through the consumption of contaminated food. It is for this reason that health authorities have urged communities to use only treated water, wash their food and hands thoroughly before eating and after using the toilet or changing a baby’s nappy.
Since the outbreak in Maputo, Maputo city, Nampula and Tete, cholera has killed two and infected more than a thousand people.
Source: Noticias
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