Biggest cholera vaccine trial ever to begin in Bangladesh

The biggest test for cholera vaccinations is about to begin in Bangladesh. The new vaccine developed in India is cheap enough so that those who are in poverty can afford it. If the the test is successful, Bangladesh will begin to immunize the entire country.

From the BBC, writer Anbarasan Ethirajan tells us more about the vaccination trial.

The study involves nearly 250,000 people near the capital, Dhaka.

If the results are positive, the programme can be replicated in other countries where cholera is a big problem, officials say.

Cholera outbreaks every year during the monsoon season kill hundreds in Bangladesh.

But many oral vaccinations are considered too expensive for millions of people in this impoverished country.

The latest initiative aims to test an affordable version of an oral vaccination, which is one-tenth of the cost of the current available vaccines.

Two-thirds of the 250,000 people involved in the trial will receive two doses of the Indian-made vaccine.
'At high risk'

The remainder will not receive the medicine and the two groups will be monitored over the next four years.

"It is a study that will demonstrate that we can deliver the vaccine to the population that needs it the most, the people at high risk of cholera," Firdousi Qadri, one of the scientists involved in the project said.