BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – An international not-for-profit and independent organization, Cochrane Nigeria, has recommended the application of World Health Organization (WHO) approved cholera vaccines for the treatment of the disease in Nigeria.
According to the organisation, in keeping with international best practices, the application of two doses of whole-cell plus cholera recombinant vaccine with or without a booster dose is capable of reducing the effect of the disease up to two years.
Additionally, the NGO stated that the same two doses of bivalent whole-cell vaccine has proven to last up to five years without expiring.
Speaking during a round-table meeting organized by the Institute of Tropical Disease Research, Prevention and Control (ITDRPC), in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, Director of the Institute, Professor Angela Oyo-Ita said most WHO recommended cholera vaccines possess equal if not more potent effects in their ability to kill the cholera bacteria.
The Professor of Community Medicine and Chief Consultant, Public Health, University of Calabar (UniCal), appealed to the media to take active part in the advocacy campaign aimed at enlightening the public on the prevention and treatment of cholera cases in Cross River and the country at large.
She, however, said Cochrane Nigeria and the Institute are seriously concerned that an avoidable disease like cholera, with a well-researched prevention and control mechanism, is still ravaging most communities largely due to lack of awareness and enlightenment.
Cochrane Nigeria is dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide.
The organization produces and disseminates systematic reviews of healthcare interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions.
