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Prevention of travellers' diarrhoea by oral B-subunit/whole-cell cholera vaccine

H Peltola1, A Siitonen, H Kyrönseppä

  • 1National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.

Lancet (London, England)
|November 23, 1991
PubMed

Insights

The B-subunit/whole-cell cholera vaccine (BS-WC) offers partial protection against travellers' diarrhoea. This oral vaccine demonstrated 52% efficacy against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections in tourists.

Area of Science:

  • Vaccinology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Travel Medicine

Background:

  • The B-subunit/whole-cell cholera vaccine (BS-WC) provides limited protection against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) in Bangladeshi populations.
  • Short-term protection is sufficient for preventing travellers' diarrhoea.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of BS-WC in preventing travellers' diarrhoea among tourists traveling from Finland to Morocco.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted with 615 tourists.
  • Participants received either two oral doses of BS-WC or a placebo before travel.
  • Faecal samples were collected and analyzed for enteropathogenic bacteria.

Main Results:

  • Enteropathogenic bacteria were detected in 47% of symptomatic travellers and 14% of asymptomatic travellers.
  • BS-WC provided 52% protection against ETEC-induced diarrhoea (p = 0.013).
  • Higher protection rates were observed for mixed infections (65%) and combined infections including ETEC and other pathogens (71%–82%).

Conclusions:

  • Active immunization with BS-WC can provide partial protection against travellers' diarrhoea.
  • The vaccine is effective against ETEC and offers enhanced protection when combined with other pathogens.

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