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UN, partners start cholera vaccination campaign within Congo
28.05.2019 17:11 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
As of this week, the Congo Government has started a major new immunization campaign against cholera targeting more than 800,000 people, UN Radio reports.
It is to be admitted, the campaign is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners.
As to the report, the campaign has begun within the restive east of the country, where armed groups hold sway over large areas, and the Congo worst-ever Ebola epidemic is still raging, having claimed well over 1,000 lives so far. A total of 835,183 people within a number of the Congo provinces will be vaccinated by a deadline of next Sat.
It is to be admitted, over 10,000 cases of cholera have been reported within the country since Jan 2019, leading to more than 240 deaths. In addition, over 80,000 suspected cases of measles have led to over 1,400 deaths so far this year while a case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was reported within Kasai province, earlier this month.
«Congo is confronted with an unprecedented combination of deadly epidemics. While the Ebola outbreak continues to cause untold misery in the East, measles and cholera epidemics are claiming the lives of thousands of people throughout the country,» said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the global Vaccine Alliance Gavi.
«That’s why we are stepping up our response, through ongoing measles vaccinations in health zones affected by measles outbreaks, as well as through our continued support for Ebola vaccinations within both Congo and neighbouring countries. We cannot allow this needless suffering to continue,» he summed up.
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