Cameroon has begun immunizing its citizens against Cholera. After going months without reporting a single case, the waterborne disease has resurfaced in the Central African region.
At least 1,890 cases of the disease have been discovered since March. The ministry aims to vaccinate 33,600 people, the bulk of whom live in cities.
According to Africanews, Cholera outbreaks are common in Cameroon’s slums and neighbourhoods, which lack adequate water drainage and sanitation infrastructure.
“Concerning the epidemiological situation of cholera in Cameroon, you know that this disease is a permanent threat in our country, and at the moment several regions are declared at high riskt,” said James Longsi, a public health specialist.
Before giving out the oral vaccines, teams from the Ministry of Health are visiting suburbs to perform sensitization.
Vaccination teams have been met with skepticism in Douala’s Youpwe area, with some people wondering whether the vaccines are not repackaged Jabs from Covid-19.
Over a dozen cases of Cholera have been reported in Cameroon’s port city, with one death.
“Yes, it is understandable that with Covid19, people are reluctant to be vaccinated. But this vaccination in Cameroon is not the first. The greater North of Cameroon has experienced campaigns that have had no consequences on the health of the population, on the contrary we have had a decrease in cholera cases since the implementation of this campaign, and it must be said, the vaccine used in this campaign is safe and effective,” said Longsi.
Women, adults, and children aged one year and up are all given the vaccine.
Cholera is a dangerous acute infectious disease that causes watery diarrhea and vomiting and can kill a person in a matter of hours.
