Cholera cases in Africa see ‘exponential’ rise, Tanzania steps up cholera surveillance
CCTV news client reported that Tanzanian health authorities said on February 10 local time that they had strengthened surveillance measures in health facilities and communities bordering Malawi to control the spread of cholera.
Abel Makubi, Permanent Secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, said that these measures include actively searching for and tracking suspected cholera cases along the border with Malawi, and conducting health education on cholera prevention in the community.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on February 9 local time that while the number of cholera cases in the world is increasing sharply, the number of cholera cases in Africa is increasing rapidly at an “exponential level”. Across the continent, confirmed cases in January were 30% higher than in all of last year. Most of the new infections and deaths have occurred in Malawi, which is facing its worst outbreak in 20 years. In total, 10 African countries are affected by cholera. In addition to Malawi, cases have also been reported in neighboring Mozambique and Zambia, as well as Burundi, Cameroon, Congo (DRC) and Nigeria. The average case fatality rate for cholera in Africa is now almost 3%, up from 2.3% in 2022 and well above the acceptable level of less than 1%.
WHO has deployed 65 experts in five countries, including 40 in Malawi alone. All 29 districts in Malawi have reported nearly 37,000 cases of cholera and 1,210 deaths since March last year. In addition, WHO has distributed cholera response kits and other supplies, including oral rehydration salts, intravenous fluids, antibiotics, rapid diagnostic test kits, personal protective equipment, tents and cholera beds.