Effectiveness of Mass Oral Cholera Vaccination in Beira, Mozambique

Abstract

New-generation, orally administered cholera vaccines offer the promise of improved control of cholera in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in many cholera-affected African populations has raised doubts about the level of protection possible with vaccination. We evaluated a mass immunization program with recombinant cholera-toxin B subunit, killed whole-cell (rBS-WC) oral cholera vaccine in Beira, Mozambique, a city where the seroprevalence of HIV is 20 to 30 percent.