Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Canadian Family Physician logoLink to Canadian Family Physician
. 2014 May;60(5):451.

Oral cholera vaccine for traveler’s diarrhea prophylaxis

Tony Nickonchuk 1, Adrienne J Lindblad 2, Michael R Kolber 3
PMCID: PMC4020650  PMID: 24829008

Clinical question

Should the oral cholera vaccine be routinely recommended to prevent traveler’s diarrhea (TD)?

Bottom line

Randomized controlled trials evaluating oral cholera vaccine for TD did not show a benefit and routine use is not recommended.

Evidence

  • In a systematic review of 24 RCTs of vaccines to prevent TD,1 many studies tested vaccines in cholera-endemic areas (not in travelers) and examined immunologic (not clinical) outcomes.

  • An RCT of 502 US college students2 given oral cholera vaccine or placebo on arrival in Mexico, with a second dose 10 days later, found no difference in all-cause diarrhea (vaccine 51%, placebo 49%) or enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) diarrhea (vaccine 14%, placebo 15%).
    • -Diarrhea was reduced 7 or more days after the second dose, but this was not confirmed by external reanalysis.1
    • -Adverse events were not reported.

  • An RCT of 187 travelers comparing ETEC vaccine, oral cholera vaccine, and placebo (given at least 7 days before leaving) found no significant difference between groups in all-cause diarrhea (placebo 21%, ETEC vaccine 24%, oral cholera vaccine 27%).3

Context

  • Diarrhea, usually from ETEC, affects up to 50% of travelers to developing countries.4–6

  • Risk of cholera is about 1 in 10 000 to 1 in 1 million per month abroad.7

  • A cholera toxin subunit in the vaccine triggers cross-immunity to ETEC,8 leading to its indication for prevention of TD.9

  • Most cases of TD resolved spontaneously in 3 to 4 days,5 but taking antibiotics at onset improved rates of 72-hour cure (84% versus 50%, number needed to treat = 3).10

  • North American guidelines do not recommend the oral cholera vaccine for most travelers.4,5

  • The vaccine costs about $90 and it is not covered by any provincial health care plans.

Implementation

As most cases of TD are acquired through consumption of contaminated food and water, common-sense recommendations for prevention include self-peeling of fruits and vegetables; consuming fully cooked, hot food; and avoiding tap water, ice, salads, fruit juices, and cold sauces.5 Travelers to high-risk areas (Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, South America, Central America, and the low-income countries of Africa)11 can be provided with antibiotics (eg, azithromycin) to self-administer if they develop diarrhea.12 Bismuth subsalicylate or antimotility agents (eg, loperamide) can also be used provided there is no blood in the stool or fever present.5,13 Vaccinations for other infectious diseases with high prevalence or potential morbidity (eg, hepatitis A) should be encouraged.5

Tools for Practice articles in Canadian Family Physician (CFP) are adapted from articles published on the Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP) website, summarizing medical evidence with a focus on topical issues and practice-modifying information. The ACFP summaries and the series in CFP are coordinated by Dr G. Michael Allan, and the summaries are co-authored by at least 1 practising family physician and are peer reviewed. Feedback is welcome and can be sent to toolsforpractice@cfpc.ca. Archived articles are available on the ACFP website: www.acfp.ca.

Footnotes

The opinions expressed in Tools for Practice articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily mirror the perspective and policy of the Alberta College of Family Physicians.

References

  • 1.Ahmed T, Bhuiyan TR, Zaman K, Sinclair D, Qadri F. Vaccines for preventing enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) diarrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;(7):CD009029. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009029.pub2. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Scerpella EG, Sanchez JL, Mathewson JJ, III, Torres-Cordero JV, Sadoff JC, Svennerholm AM, et al. Safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy of the whole-cell/recombinant B subunit (WC/rBS) oral cholera vaccine against travelers’ diarrhea. J Travel Med. 1995;2(1):22–7. doi: 10.1111/j.1708-8305.1995.tb00615.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Wiedermann G, Kollaritsch H, Kundi M, Svennerholm AM, Bjare U. Double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled pilot study evaluating efficacy and reactogenicity of an oral ETEC B-subunit-inactivated whole cell vaccine against travelers’ diarrhea (preliminary report) J Travel Med. 2000;7(1):27–9. doi: 10.2310/7060.2000.00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Public Health Agency of Canada Statement on new oral cholera and travellers’ diarrhea vaccination. Canada Communicable Disease Report. 2005;31:1–12. Available from: www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/05vol31/asc-dcc-7/index-eng.php. Accessed 2013 Nov 8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Hill DR, Ericsson CD, Pearson RD, Keystone JS, Freedman DO, Kozarsky PE, et al. The practice of travel medicine: guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis. 2006;43(12):1499–539. doi: 10.1086/508782. Epub 2006 Nov 8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Adachi JA, Jiang ZD, Mathewson JJ, Verenkar MP, Thompson S, Martinez-Sandoval F, et al. Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli as a major etiologic agent in traveler’s diarrhea in 3 regions of the world. Clin Infect Dis. 2001;32(12):1706–9. doi: 10.1086/320756. Epub 2001 May 21. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Steffen R, Acar J, Walker E, Zuckerman J. Cholera: assessing the risk to travellers and identifying methods of protection. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2003;1(2):80–8. doi: 10.1016/S1477-8939(03)00062-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8.Hill DR, Ford L, Lalloo DG. Oral cholera vaccines: use in clinical practice. Lancet Infect Dis. 2006;6(6):361–73. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(06)70494-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Dukoral. Oral, inactivated travellers’ diarrhea and cholera vaccine [product monograph] Toronto, ON: Crucell Vaccines Canada; 2012. p. 5. Available from: www.janssen.ca/subcategory_docdownload?id=1586. Accessed 2013 Dec 8. [Google Scholar]
  • 10.De Bruyn G, Hahn S, Borwick A. Antibiotic treatment for travellers’ diarrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(3):CD002242. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD002242. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Al-Abri SS, Beeching NJ, Nye FJ. Traveller’s diarrhoea. Lancet Infect Dis. 2005;5(6):349–60. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(05)70139-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Blondel-Hill E, Fryters S. Bugs and drugs. 5th ed. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Health Services; 2012. [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Ericsson CD, DuPont HL, Okhuysen PC, Jiang ZD, DuPont MW. Loperamide plus azithromycin more effectively treats travelers’ diarrhea in Mexico than azithromycin alone. J Travel Med. 2007;14(5):312–9. doi: 10.1111/j.1708-8305.2007.00144.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Family Physician are provided here courtesy of College of Family Physicians of Canada

RESOURCES