Cholera is a severe dehydrating illness of humans. It is endemic in over 50 countries and causes 3 to 5 million cases a year, resulting in approximately 100,000 deaths. Currently available cholera vaccines have shortcomings. They are often poorly immunogenic in children under the age of 5 years, and often do not induce robust long-term memory responses in immunologically nave populations. We provide strong preliminary data that antibodies targeting O-specific polysaccharide (OSP) affect Vibrio cholerae and are associated with protection against cholera. We here propose an international clinical study approach to investigate the impact of OSP-specific antibodies on V. cholerae.
Relevance to public health Currently available oral cholera vaccines have a number of shortcomings. Developing improved vaccines or vaccination strategies is hampered by the reality that we do not currently understand the mechanism of immune protection against cholera. We have strong preliminary evidence that immune responses targeting O-specific polysaccharide (OSP) affect Vibrio cholerae, and we here propose an investigative approach to evaluate these effects.
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