Cholera outbreaks have killed more than 6,800 people across Africa this year, with nearly 300,000 infections reported in 23 countries, the Africa CDC said on Thursday. The agency put the toll at 6,854 deaths and 297,394 cases, a case-fatality ratio of about 2.3 percent.
Speaking at a virtual briefing from Namibia, Yap Boum II, the Africa CDC’s deputy incident manager, warned that torrential rains could drive cases higher in the remaining weeks of the year unless prevention and response measures accelerate. He noted an increase of almost 50,000 cases compared with last year in the final two months alone.
Angola and Burundi remain among the worst affected, with transmission linked to poor sanitation and limited access to safe water, while recent weeks have seen declines in South Sudan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—though the burden there is still high, the Africa CDC said.
The World Health Organization’s latest global situation report also flags sustained multi-country transmission and warns that overall cholera deaths worldwide exceeded 6,500 by late September, underscoring persistent gaps in water, sanitation and vaccine supply.
Cholera is caused by ingesting water or food contaminated with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. Health agencies urge increased access to safe water, hygiene promotion, oral cholera vaccination where available, rapid case detection and timely rehydration treatment to reduce deaths.