The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported in their that 25 nations reported cases of cholera. (This includes Benin, Ethiopia, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, where recent cases have been reported, but did not report in time for the September 2022 update.) Since that report, , making it the only nation in the Americas with an active cholera outbreak. . And there are concerns about cholera (and ) in places where military conflicts are underway, .
Cholera is a bacterial disease caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacteria, and . One in ten people infected will have severe disease: . Without , cholera is deadly because it severely dehydrates the individual through the profuse watery diarrhea it causes.
Cholera is indicative of the challenges developing nations and nations with flawed infrastructure face. The lack of potable water and sewage disposal are integral to cholera outbreaks. As a result, nations that recently experienced natural or manmade disasters are at highest risk of cholera outbreaks. Places with safe drinking water, appropriate sewage disposal and treatment, and access to medical care are less likely to suffer cholera outbreaks or deaths from cholera in the event of an outbreak.
A vaccine against cholera . Unfortunately, a shortage of current vaccines has led to the to address outbreaks worldwide. With only two manufacturers of the vaccine (one in India and one in South Korea), and , the global stockpile will be stretched thin.
Dr. Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergencies program said this shortage of cholera vaccine would not be an issue “if cholera were spreading in industrialized and wealthy countries right now.” Dr. Phillippe Barbosa, also of the WHO, echoed this sentiment, stating that vaccine manufacturers have “no prospect of selling to rich countries,” thus leading to no interest in upping production of the vaccine.
While , they will certainly arrive too late for the people currently infected and suffering severe disease. They will probably be too late for outbreaks in developing nations in the next few years; not from lack of interest, but from lack of funding. It will be interesting to see if developed countries step up and deliver the resources needed to save lives.
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