Cholera control in endemic regions of Africa: monitoring of diseases burden following mass vaccination campaigns

The World Health Organization has launched a new roadmap, which recommends multi-sectorial approached to control cholera in endemic areas (hotspots), including the use oral cholera vaccines (OCV). A key postulate of the strategy is that OCV can achieve control in hotspot while the mid/long term WASH measures are implemented. Nonetheless the evidence available to support is weak as a result of the small campaigns conducted so far in endemic areas. This project aims to fill this essential knowledge gap and asses if a large vaccination campaigns reaching high coverage in cholera hotspot in Africa allow sustained control of cholera for at least two years. We propose to achieve this goal through combined epidemiological and laboratory surveillance using molecular methods and serial serological surveys in two hotspots in Africa, Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kasese in Uganda. The evidence generated from this project will be key for to monitor the success of the new cholera roadmap and to develop imporved strategies for cholera vaccine use in endemic settings.