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Feasibility of a preventive mass vaccination campaign with two doses of oral cholera vaccine during a humanitarian emergency in South Sudan

2014; Oxford University Press; Volume: 108; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/trstmh/tru153

1878-3503

Miguel Porta, Annick Lenglet, Silvia de Weerdt, Rosa Crestani, Renate Sinke, Mary Jo Frawley, Michel Van Herp, Rony Zachariah,

Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy

As an adjunct to cholera prevention measures, WHO advises the use of oral cholera vaccine through mass vaccination campaigns in high-risk areas and for vulnerable population groups. We assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a mass vaccination campaign using 1) a predominantly fixed and 2) a mobile door-to-door strategy. Vaccination included administration of two doses (given 2 weeks apart) of oral cholera vaccine to individuals older than 1 year of age, in four refugee camps: Jamam, Doro, Batil and Gendrassa, and the host population in Maban County, South Sudan, from December 2012 to February 2013. A total of 258 832 doses were administered to a population of 166 000 (126 000 refugees and 40 000 host population). The first round coverage for the refugees was above 84% for Doro, Jamam and Batil and 104% for Gendrassa. The second dose reached the same coverage as the first dose. For the host population, the coverage for the first dose was above 90% in Doro and Jamam and 53% in Gendrassa and Batil. For the second round, the coverage was above 79% in Doro and Jamam and above 70% in Batil and Gendrassa. The vaccination of a large population in an emergency context proved to be feasible and acceptable and achieved high coverage. This is encouraging and is a way forward for reducing cholera related morbidity and mortality among vulnerable populations.