After years of decline, cholera outbreaks are now alarmingly on the rise all over the world, according to Dr. Felipe Barbosa, head of the World Health Organization’s Cholera and Epidemic Diarrheal Diseases Team.
In addition, the first nine months of this year alone have seen 26 countries report cholera outbreaks, compared to less than 20 countries on average between 2017 and 2021, the head of the World Health Organization’s team in charge of cholera and epidemic diarrheal diseases said at a press conference today, Friday, in Geneva. He also confirmed that the world is not only experiencing more outbreaks, but that the outbreaks themselves are bigger and more deadly.
He pointed out that although cholera can kill within hours, its treatment is simple, but many people do not have access to it in time. He also mentioned that the death rate from cholera infection nearly tripled in 2021 compared to the previous five years, and that Africa is witnessing a 3% increase in the global death rate.
While the causes of cholera outbreaks, such as poverty and conflict, persist, he made the point that countries today face an increasing threat from climate change, as extreme weather events like floods, cyclones, and drought reduce access to clean water and foster the ideal conditions for cholera to flourish. In the absence of stronger cholera prevention measures, the consequences of climate change are projected to exacerbate and the situation to get worse.
WHO: Worldwide cholera epidemics have increased at an alarming rate.
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