Zimbabwe launches door-to-door cholera vaccination campaign
29/01/2024 15:08
By Nyasha Chingono
HARARE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe on Monday launched a
cholera vaccination campaign to immunize over 2 million people
against the waterborne disease, amid an outbreak that has killed
hundreds since early last year.
Cholera had killed 452 people and infected a total of 20,446
in the southern African country as of Jan. 24, since the
outbreak started in February 2023, according to health ministry
statistics. About half of the cases have involved children.
Zimbabwe will receive a total of 2.3 million vaccine doses
from UNICEF and the World Health Organization to be deployed to
29 of the hardest-hit districts. More than 892,000 doses have
already been dispatched, the health ministry said.
The cholera vaccine roll-out campaign was launched in
Kuwadzana, a township about 15 km (9 miles) from central Harare.
Health workers administered the first vaccines to
schoolchildren amid calls for residents to participate. They
have also started going door-to-door offering vaccines to
households.
Cholera is spread by contaminated food or water and often
occurs in crowded urban areas with poor sanitation facilities.
The campaign uses the Euvichol-Plus vaccine, produced by
EuBiologics 206650.KQ , which is administered orally and
protects against cholera infections for at least six months.
In November, the Zimbabwean government moved to restrict
public gatherings and food vending and monitor burials in areas
affected by cholera after cases spiked.
"The introduction of the cholera vaccine is another tool to
prevent the further spread of the disease," the health ministry
said.
(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Nellie Peyton and
Tomasz Janowski)
((NyashaMark.Chingono@thomsonreuters.com;))