Capsules: Cholera containment

The number of cholera cases decreased globally by 60 per cent in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in a report that points to an encouraging trend in cholera prevention and control in the world’s major cholera hotspots, including Haiti, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There were 4,99,447 cases of cholera and 2,990 deaths in 2018, according to reports from 34 countries. While outbreaks are still ongoing in various countries, the case load represents a significant downward trend in cholera transmission that has continued into 2019, according to data collected by WHO.

Nearly 18 million doses of Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) were shipped to 11 countries in 2018, the WHO said.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Ervebo, the first FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of Ebola virus disease (EVD), caused by Zaire ebolavirus in individuals 18 years of age and older. Cases of EVD are very rare in the US, and those that have occurred have been the result of infections acquired by individuals in other countries who then travelled to the US, or healthcare workers who became ill after treating patients with EVD.

“Today’s approval is an important step in our continuing efforts to fight Ebola in close coordination with our partners across the US Department of Health and Human Services, as well as our international partners, such as the World Health Organization,” said Anna Abram, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation, and International Affairs. The approval was granted to Merck & Co Inc, the FDA said.