About 2.4 million people in five areas of Dhaka city will receive oral cholera vaccine in one week starting Sunday, according to the icddr,b.

The first dose of the cholera vaccine has been scheduled to be given from 8am to 4pm.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque today inaugurated the country's largest oral cholera vaccination campaign at the icddr,b in Mohakhali.

In Bangladesh, generally, there are two outbreaks of diarrhoea that take place during April-May and August-September.

The number of diarrhoeal patients in Dhaka during March-May this year was many times higher than in the past. More than half of these patients were from areas such as Jatrabari, Dakshin Khan, Sabujbagh, Mohammadpur and Mirpur.

During this time, the number of cholera patients rose to about 34 percent among all patients.

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So, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) urged the Intersectoral Coordination Group (ICG) to provide vaccines for the "reactive cholera vaccination programme."

In response, the ICG provided about 4.5 million doses of oral cholera vaccines.

The icddr,b is undertaking the cholera vaccination campaign with support from Dhaka North and South City Corporation and under the supervision of the DGHS.

The two-dose Euvichol-Plus Cholera vaccine produced by EuBiologics Co, South Korea, which is given at least 14 days apart, will be administered to those who are above one year of age.

This vaccine is prequalified by the World Health Organization and can be given to all except pregnant women and those who have received other vaccines within the last 14 days.

A target has been set to vaccinate about 5 lakh residents of Jatrabari, 4.2 lakh in Sabujbagh, 2.8 lakh in Dakshin Khan, 7.8 lakh in Mirpur and 4 lakh in Mohammadpur.