Saturday, July 27, 2024
27 C
Brunei Town

Spike in cholera in Cameroon kills 29 in one week

YAOUNDÉ (AFP) – Twenty-nine people have died from cholera in Cameroon in the space of a week, the health minister said yesterday.

Most of the deaths occurred in three cities in the west of the country, which has seen a spike in cases of the water-borne disease.

Cholera is an acute form of diarrhoea that is treatable with antibiotics and hydration but can kill within hours if left untreated.

“We saw a spike in cases of cholera in the Southwest region between March 16 and 22, 2022, with more than 300 cases registered,” Health Minister Manaouda Malachie tweeted.

He said there were “20 deaths in Kumba,… two deaths in Buea,… five deaths in Tiko (and) two deaths in Yaounde”, the capital.

A total of 62 people had died since October 2021 and over the period nearly 2,100 cases had been detected, Malachie wrote, adding that the authorities were coordinating a vaccination campaign and other measures to contain the outbreak.

The last epidemic was between January and August 2020, when 66 people died.

spot_img

Latest

spot_img