The World Health Organization, WHO, today began distributing 900,000 doses of cholera vaccine in Bangladesh’s camps for Rohingya refugees fleeing from Myanmar.
The aim is to prevent a major outbreak of the deadly disease. WHO said more than 10,000 cases of diarrhoea have been reported in the past week alone.
Dr N. Paranietharan, the WHO’s representative in Bangladesh said there is a clear risk for cholera. Cholera has not been identified in testing of patient samples by Bangladesh’s health ministry, although clinics say they are waiting for reports of some samples sent last week.
The first round of the vaccination campaign will cover 650,000 people aged one year and older. A second round will target 250,000 children aged between one and five with an additional dose for extra protection.
