New Delhi: Cholera kills half a million people every year. There are two vaccines but they don't work in endemic countries like India and Bangladesh.
Now, the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases along with the International vaccine initiative have come up with a Cholera vaccine that has shown a good immune response.
Dirty, contaminated water, unhygienic living conditions and poverty make an ideal breeding ground for cholera germs. Cholera outbreaks are common in summer season across the country, especially in Bengal and Kerala, where the disease is widely prevalent.
The Cholera bacteria cause severe diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and acute dehydration. If not treated on time, a patient can go into shock and die.
The two existing vaccines do not give good immunity in India. A new vaccine has now been developed by the National centre for Cholera and Enteric Diseases in collaboration with the International vaccine initiative.
"The clinical trials are done and we are ready with a new vaccine that will break the transmission," said Dr N K Ganguly, former DG, ICMR.
The vaccine was first developed in Vietnam but there were flaws. Indian scientists picked up the vaccine and reworked it, using a different strain.
Tentatively priced at three rupees, the vaccine helps to break the price barrier since cholera occurs mostly in poor families.
Cholera causes severe dehydration in both adults and children. A cheap and effective vaccine can help save lives that are lost in repeated outbreaks.