The Impact of Mass Oral Cholera Vaccination in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Here we aim to study the impact of massive cholera vaccination in Uvira, DR Congo through a multifaceted approach aimed at estimating changes in clinical disease incidence, infection rates, and the type and frequency of occurrence of toxigenic V. cholerae in the environment. Successful completion of this project will provide critical insights into the impact that mass OCV campaigns can have on human health while at the same time providing a new understanding of the epidemiology of cholera in this hyper-endemic setting. Our specific objectives are: Objective 1: To enhance the cholera surveillance system in Uvira, South Kivu, DR Congo in order to estimate the impact of mass vaccination on lab-confirmed cholera incidence and mortality. Objective 2: To conduct serial cross-sectional serosurveys before and after vaccination to estimate the impact of vaccination on seroincidence of V. cholerae infection in Uvira. Objective 3: To use phenotypic and molecular methods to describe the changes in the V. cholerae population after vaccination in both human and environmental samples in Uvira.