WHO concerned about rising number of cholera cases worldwide – science
Diseases
Geneva (dpa). The number of cholera outbreaks has increased worldwide this year. In the first nine months, 27 countries reported outbreaks, reported the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday in Geneva. More than 10,000 cases have been reported from Syria alone in the past few weeks. Two cases have just been reported in Haiti after the country was cholera-free for three years. The true number is probably much higher there.
The WHO did not give any worldwide case numbers. In mid-September, the European Health Authority (ECDC) reported almost 40,000 new cases within one month. The WHO expects a high number of unreported cases because there are no reliable figures from many regions.
The development is worrying, said Tedros. Not only are there more outbreaks, but more people are dying. The death rate this year is almost three times higher than the average for the past five years. Cholera spreads where there is poverty and conflict and where people are struggling with the consequences of climate change, Tedros said.
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Cholera is a bacterial diarrheal disease that causes severe dehydration. Infection usually occurs through drinking water that has been tried with faeces or vomit from the sick. Without medical care, people can die within hours. With hydration, the chance of survival is high. “But the reality is that many people don’t have access to such simple interventions,” Tedros said.
The WHO set up a cholera vaccine emergency stockpile in 2013. But the material is not enough. “We call on the leading vaccine manufacturers to talk to us about how we can boost vaccine production,” said Tedros.
ECDC on Cholera on September 16, 2022
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