By Jennifer Rigby
LONDON (Reuters) - A global shortage of cholera vaccines is likely to last until 2025 as outbreaks surge worldwide, according to a report from the Gavi vaccine alliance.
Cholera cases and deaths jumped last year as the deadly disease spread to new regions, particularly areas of poverty and conflict.
In response, the World Health Organization and partners temporarily switched to using one dose of a vaccine that is normally given as two doses. But they still ran out last December.
Gavi, an international body focused on childhood vaccination, said there are currently enough doses to meet emergency demand but not for preventative use. Supply should improve by 2026, as existing manufacturers ramp up and a new company enters the market, it said.
(Reporting by John Stonestreet)