Cholera kills 32 in Cameroon

THIRTY-TWO people have died in a new outbreak of cholera in the central-western African state of Cameroon.

  A report released by Health Minister, Manaouda Malachie, in Yaoundé yesterday said as of January 1, there were 32 deaths out of 1,102 recorded cases but more than half of the figure occurred between last week and Tuesday.

  Malachie also said the water-borne disease was first detected in the Southwest and Centre regions in late October and then spread to three other regions.

  Outbreaks of cholera occur periodically in Cameroon including the country’s last epidemic between January and August 2020, when 66 people died.

  An acute form of diarrhoea that is treatable with antibiotics and hydration, experts say cholera is caused by a germ that is typically transmitted by poor sanitation. People become infected when they swallow food or water carrying the bug. But World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates an annual global tally of between 1.3 and four million cases, leading to between 21,000 and 143,000 deaths.