Cholera vaccine: WHO position paper, August 2017 - Recommendations

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Vaccinology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Cholera remains a significant public health concern globally, necessitating updated vaccination strategies.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) regularly issues position papers on vaccines impacting international public health.
• This paper supersedes the 2010 WHO position paper on cholera vaccines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the WHO's revised recommendations for cholera vaccine use.
• To provide updated guidance on target populations for cholera immunization.
• To incorporate the latest scientific evidence into global cholera vaccination strategies.

Main Methods:

• Review of the most recent scientific evidence on cholera vaccination.
• Discussion and deliberation by the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) in April 2017.
• Extraction of recommendations from the WHO's 2017 position paper on cholera vaccines.

Main Results:

• Revised recommendations on the use of cholera vaccines.
• Updated identification of target populations for cholera immunization programs.
• Inclusion of evidence grading and evidence-to-recommendation tables.

Conclusions:

• The 2017 WHO position paper provides current global guidance on cholera vaccination.
• Updated recommendations aim to enhance the effectiveness of cholera immunization programs.
• The paper emphasizes the importance of evidence-based decision-making in public health interventions.