The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday (4/9) that the number of cholera deaths reported last year worldwide jumped 71% from the previous year to more than 4,000 people.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lamented the death toll from a disease he described as “preventable and easily treatable.”
“Conflict, climate change, unsafe water and sanitation, poverty and displacement all contribute to the rise in cholera outbreaks,” he added.
People can get cholera through food or water contaminated with cholera bacteria. Cholera bacteria can spread from a person into the drinking water supply, or water used to prepare or grow food.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of cholera include profuse diarrhea, vomiting, increased thirst, leg cramps, and restlessness or irritability.
The number of cholera cases also jumped from 2022 to 2023 by 13%, with 38% of reported cases occurring in children under the age of five.
The WHO report also showed that Africa last year experienced a 125% increase in cholera cases, while cholera cases in the Middle East and Asia fell by 32%.
WHO collected statistics on cholera in 2023 from 45 countries. Forty-four countries submitted information in 2022, while 35 countries submitted information in 2021.
In this year’s report, WHO said that for the first time, countries were reporting cholera deaths that did not occur in health facilities. WHO said that deaths occurring in communities were an indication of “serious gaps in access to treatment and the need to strengthen this area of the response.”
In 2023, countries reporting major cholera outbreaks, both suspected and confirmed, included Afghanistan, Congo, Malawi and Somalia. Ethiopia, Haiti, Mozambique and Zimbabwe also reported outbreaks in 2023.
Preliminary data for 2024 shows the cholera outbreak is continuing with active outbreaks recorded in 22 countries, according to WHO.
There is a cholera vaccine, but it is made by a single manufacturer that has not been able to meet demand. Tedros has asked other companies to start making the vaccine.
The most important treatment for cholera, according to the CDC, is rehydration therapy, which aims to replace fluids lost through diarrhea and vomiting, but WHO says supplies are low.
The WHO said it has asked for $50 million to tackle cholera, but has not received it. It is a need, the WHO said, that “remains unmet.” (em/rs)
