Prevent cholera thru' sanitation, not vaccine
Health experts urge govt
The government should spend money to develop the sanitation system and ensure pure drinking water to prevent cholera instead of providing cholera vaccine, health experts under the banner of Health Rights Movement said yesterday.
At a press conference at Jaitya Press Club in the city, the experts said the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh is still giving trials of the cholera vaccine at city's Mirpur area.
It was found that efficacy of two doses of cholera oral vaccine is only 67 percent and for only two years. The vaccine was not applied on pregnant women and children, they said, adding that if the vaccine was administered on 5,000 people, only 10 would benefit.
Cholera is not the leading cause of children's death in the country. Furthermore, two doses of cholera vaccine costs US $ 2, which would not be cost effective in a country like Bangladesh, the experts said.
They also said the health ministry on May 22 last year proposed to World Health Organisation to use the vaccine globally. The proposal titled “Control of Cholera and Prevention Strategy” was prepared hurriedly, without considering priority issues.
It would not be cost effective introducing cholera vaccine at the public health sector, said Prof Rashid E Mahbub, president of Health Rights Movement.
Bangladesh Pediatric Doctors Association Secretary General Dr Mesbah Uddin, Nitai Kanti Das and Milon Bikash Paul of Health Rights Movement also spoke.
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