 Cholera remains to be a serious public health problem worldwide. In the mid-1980s following technology transfer from Sweden, Vietnamese scientists developed and produced an oral killed monovalent cholera vaccine for Vietnams public health programs. A 2-dose regimen of this vaccine has been shown to be safe and efficacious. Subsequently, a bivalent vaccine was developed containing the newly emergent O139 V. cholerae. This vaccine has several advantages over the existing Swedish vaccine. It confers protection against the El Tor biotype in younger children, is considerably less expensive, does not require a buffer during administration and does not require strict cold chain requirements. However, this vaccine is not licensed for use in countries other than Vietnam. 