Cholera Infections And Fatalities In Africa Are Up 30%.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa is seeing an exponential increase in cholera cases as the disease spreads worldwide.

In a news conference held yesterday through the internet, the WHO African Region (WHOAFRO) said that the number of cases reported on the continent in January of this year alone was 30% more than the entire number of cases in 2022.

In 10 African nations that have seen outbreaks since the start of the year, it was observed that an estimated 26,000 illnesses and 660 fatalities had been recorded as of January 29. Nearly 80,000 cases and 1,863 fatalities from 15 countries were reported in 2022.

The top United Nations health organization issued a warning that if the present pattern continues, the number of cases might exceed that in 2021, which was the deadliest year for the epidemic in Africa in over ten years. The average case fatality ratio is presently approaching 3%, which is much higher than the expected target of under 1% and over the 2022 total of 2.3%.

Dr. Patrick Otim, the Acute Events Management Unit’s health emergency officer, directed the WHO media event. Dr. Charles Mwansambo, Malawi’s Secretary for Health, and Dr. Placide Welo, Director of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ministry of Health’s Cholera Elimination and Diarrheal Disease Control Program, accompanied him. Dr. Thierno Balde, the regional COVID-19 incident manager from the WHO Regional Office for Africa, was also present.

The majority of new cases and fatalities, according to WHO, have been reported in Malawi, which is dealing with its worst cholera epidemic in 20 years. Mozambique and Zambia, the neighbors, have also lately recorded incidents.