Twenty-nine people have died of cholera in one week in Cameroon, mainly in the west of the country, which faces a “spike in cases”, the Cameroonian Minister of Health announced on March 25. This acute diarrheal disease, from which one can die in a few hours in the absence of treatment, reappears periodically in this Central African country with a population of more than 25 million. “Between March 16 and 22, 2022, an outbreak of cholera cases is observed in the South West with more than 300 notified cases”, Manaouda Malachie wrote on Twitter. Twenty-seven people have died of cholera in three major cities in western Cameroon, and two in the capital Yaoundé.
Between March 16 and 22, 2022, an outbreak of cholera cases was observed in the South West with more than 300 cases notified, i.e. 43 cases and 20 deaths in Kumba, 111 cases and 2 deaths in Buéa, 122 cases in Limbé , 68 cases and 05 deaths in Tiko. There were also 16 cases and 02 deaths in Yaoundé
– Dr MANAOUDA MALACHIE (@DrManaouda) March 24, 2022
Since October 2021, the cholera epidemic has claimed 62 lives with nearly 2,100 cases recorded, according to Dr Malachie. “The incident management system has been activated (…) to ensure the coordination of the measures taken and the reactive vaccination”, wrote the minister. The previous resurgence of cholera claimed 66 lives in Cameroon between January and August 2020. At the beginning of 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were 1.3 to 4 million cases of cholera each year and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths from this disease worldwide.
In order to vigorously respond to the ongoing cholera epidemic in our country, the incident management system has been activated at the central level and in the epidemic regions to ensure the coordination of the measures taken and reactive vaccination. ⚠️
– Dr MANAOUDA MALACHIE (@DrManaouda) March 24, 2022
“Safe, oral cholera vaccines should be used in conjunction with improved water supply and sanitation to limit cholera outbreaks and promote prevention in areas known to be at high risk” , according to the UN organization.
According to the local press, the authorities have ordered the urgent construction of public toilets and the strengthening of the drinking water supply to stem the epidemic.