Introducing the New Oral Cholera Vaccine Euvichol-S by South Korean Laboratory EuBiologicals: WHO Announcement & Global Impact

EL NUEVO DIARIO, GENEVA.- The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the introduction of a new vaccine, the South Korean Euvichol-S, administered orally, at a time when increasing incidences, cases and deaths due to the disease worldwide.

The new vaccine has the same effectiveness as the existing ones but a simpler formula, which could increase the production of these medicines, WHO statement.

The South Korean laboratory EuBiologicals had already been included 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 the list, Dukoral and Shanchol, also given orally.

Last year it is estimated that there were at least 700,000 global cases of cholera, a sharp increase compared to the 473,000 in 2022, which had already doubled the previous year’s figures.

The increase in the number of deaths worldwide has also been notable, as 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 particularly severe conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Somalia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Comoros.

Cholera is a highly contagious disease that usually spreads through contaminated water and food, so it is common in places with poor sanitation, often areas shaken by conflict or crisis.

Climate change is a factor that worsens the situation according to the WHO, since many of these events arise after natural disasters such as floods, cyclones and drought, due to the reduction in access to drinking water which usually happens in these situations.

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