WHO warns of a more deadly cholera outbreak

On December 18th, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that climate change has led to an “unprecedented” cholera outbreak, the largest and deadliest worldwide this year.

“Cholera threatens people in many parts of the world,” Philip Barboza, head of the WHO’s team to combat cholera and epidemic diarrheal diseases, told Reuters. 

He added: “The situation is completely unprecedented, because not only are we seeing more outbreaks, but these outbreaks are larger and more deadly than those we have seen in past years, and this increased number of cholera outbreaks is occurring after several years of steady declines in the number of cases and deaths.”

He noted that this health crisis is spreading across the Horn of Africa and the Sahel with “major floods, unprecedented monsoons and a series of hurricanes.

The available data indicates that cases of infection occurred in about 30 countries, while in the past five years, on average, less than 20 countries reported infections.

O. al-Mohammad