Dukoral

Product Overview

About Dukoral

Dukoral is a vaccine.

What it is used for

Dukoral can only be obtained with a prescription.

How it is used

Dukoral is available as a liquid mixture in a bottle together with powder in a sachet. The powder is dissolved in water to make an effervescent solution and the Dukoral liquid is added to this solution before the person drinks it. Food, drink and other medicines should be avoided for 1 hour before and 1 hour after taking the vaccine.

In adults and children from 6 years of age, Dukoral is given as two doses, 1 to 6 weeks apart. Children aged between 2 and 6 years should receive three doses, with an interval of 1 to 6 weeks between each dose. The course should be completed at least 1 week before potential exposure to cholera. For continuous protection against cholera, a single booster dose is recommended within 2 years for adults and children from 6 years of age, and within 6 months for children aged between 2 and 6 years.

How it works

Dukoral contains small amounts of inactivated (killed) bacteria that cause cholera and a fragment of the cholera toxin called the ‘B subunit’. When a person is given the vaccine, the immune system recognises the killed bacteria and the toxin fragment in the vaccine as ‘foreign’ and makes antibodies against them. If, later on, the bacteria (from contaminated food or drink) enter the gut of a vaccinated person, the antibodies will be able to prevent the bacteria and their toxin from attaching to the walls of the gut and entering the body’s cells.

Active substance: Not specified.

Source: EMA EPAR