THE EFFORT TO eradicate cholera has been given a major boost thanks to the latest Prince Mahidol Awards. Dr John Clemens and Dr Jan Holmgren, winners of the 2018 Prince Mahidol Awards in the field of public health, said that not only did the award help them find funding in their fight against cholera, it also raised public awareness of this deadly but preventable disease. Clemens is director of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh, while his colleague on oral cholera vaccine (OCV) research and development, Holmgren, is a professor of Medical Microbiological and Immunology at Gothenburg University Vaccine Research Institute in Sweden. Hence, Holmgren pointed out that cholera vaccination was the best and most efficient way of preventing outbreaks. “The great honour of the Prince Mahidol Award is offering us the chance to further our campaign to save the lives of people in poor countries and help get public recognition of the cholera vaccine and the importance of the effort to control cholera.”

Source: The Nation Bangkok January 31, 2019 18:56 UTC