KINSHASA : The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has initiated a large cholera vaccine campaign aimed at 2 million people aged one year and up in three eastern provinces in order to stem an outbreak of the illness, according to Congo health experts.

The campaign will span 13 health zones with about 4 million doses given by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control, and will be carried out in Haut-Lomami, South Kivu, and Tanganyika provinces, which have been the worst hit by cholera since August. According to estimates, around 3,600 health professionals, including vaccinators and community mobilizers, have been deployed to carry out the six-day campaign. The DRC has reported 8,279 probable cholera cases and 153 deaths in 16 of the country's 26 provinces since the beginning of the year.

Cholera is a severe infection that, if left untreated, can kill within hours, yet it is also predictable and treatable. To prevent the outbreak from spreading further, we are providing clean water and boosting hygiene and sanitation, in addition to vaccines, which are one of the most effective strategies against the disease," said WHO Officer in-Charge in the DRC, Amedee Prosper Djiguimde. The current vaccination campaign is the DRC's second large-scale immunization program in 2021. In the southeastern Haut-Katanga region, more than 1.4 million individuals were vaccinated against cholera between March and July.

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