Tag: Cholera

Nigeria cholera outbreak claims more lives as death toll tops 2,300

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NIGERIA – Nigeria is seeing one of its worst cholera outbreaks in years, with more than 2,300 people dying from suspected cases as Africa’s most populous country struggles to deal with multiple disease outbreaks. This year’s cholera outbreak, with a higher case fatality rate than the previous four years, is worsened by what many consider to be a bigger priority for state governments: the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigeria faces a resurgence of cases driven by the Delta variant, and less than 1% of the population has been fully vaccinated. At least…

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West Africa COVID-19 deaths surge amid Ebola, Marburg and Cholera outbreaks

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CONGO – West Africa has recorded its highest number of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began as several countries grapple with outbreaks of cholera, Ebola Virus Disease and Marburg Virus Disease that threaten to further strain the already stretched emergency response capacity in the region. COVID-19 fatalities in West Africa over the past four weeks increased by 193% from 348 in the previous four weeks to 1018 in the past week even though the case fatality ratio stands at 1.4%—below the continental average of 2.5%. While new cases in West…

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Cholera outbreak kills 12 people in Nigeria’s neighboring country, Niger

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NIGER – A cholera outbreak in southern Niger has killed 12 people and infected 201 others across three regions, with heavy rains helping to further spread the disease, the country’s health minister has said. “Most of the cases are related to an epidemic that has been raging for several months in neighboring cross-border regions where there is significant mixing of cross-border populations,” health minister Idi Illiassou Mainassara said in a statement. Niger’s border with Nigeria is a hot spot for cholera outbreaks, where populations often move freely between both countries…

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Nigeria sees a damning surge in cholera cases amid speculated third wave of Covid-19

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NIGERIA – Nigeria has been hit by a surge in cholera cases in recent weeks, focused on the country’s north and adding to a public health crisis accompanied by a rise in COVID-19 cases. “In the last two weeks we had new and resurgence cases,” Dr. Bashir Lawan Muhammad, the state epidemiologist and deputy director of public health for northern economic hub Kano State, said. He said the rainy season was making it worse, while insecurity in the north, where the authorities have been battling Islamist militants and armed criminals,…

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Zambia works in close collaboration with WHO to ensure successful rollout of cholera vaccines

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ZAMBIA – Although Cholera is a preventable disease, it remains a significant public health problem globally. Each year, there are 1.3 to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths worldwide. Zambia has experienced cholera outbreaks since 1977 and the country’s last major outbreak lasted from October 2017 to June 2018 with a total of 5,935 reported cases and 114 deaths. The risk factors mainly include inadequate access to clean and safe water, poor sanitation facilities, poor solid waste management and consumption of contaminated food. In 2019 the…

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Ethiopia to vaccinate 2 million against cholera as a means of preventing catastrophic outbreaks

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ETHIOPIA – Ethiopia has officially launched a preventive oral cholera vaccination campaign targeting 2 million people aged 1 year and above in Tigray region in the north of the country to avert a potential outbreak. “The oral cholera vaccine is one of the proven preventive measures that can help avert needless sickness and death if done in a timely manner,” said Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO Representative in Ethiopia. The vaccination drive, which began on 10 June is being carried out alongside measures such as the provision of water purification…

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