WHO says cholera kills more than 6000 people in 2024

‎By Franca Ofili

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that cholera cases rose by five per cent and deaths by 50 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023, with more than 6,000 people dying from the disease, though it is preventable and treatable.

WHO said this in its global cholera statistics for 2024 published on Friday.

The publication showed an increase in both the number of people who fell sick and died from the disease.
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‎According to it, ‎”While these numbers are themselves alarming, they are underestimates of the true burden of cholera.
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‎”Conflict, climate change, population displacement, and long-term deficiencies in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure continue to fuel the rise of cholera.
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‎”A disease caused by the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, spreads rapidly through faeces-contaminated water,” it said.
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‎The statement said that 60 countries reported cases in 2024, an increase from 45 in 2023.
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‎”The burden of the disease remained concentrated in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, which collectively accounted for 98 per cent of all reported cases,” it said.
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‎It said that the scope of cholera outbreaks continued to expand in 2024, with 12 countries each reporting more than 10,000 cases, seven of which experiencing large outbreaks for the first time in the year.
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‎The statement said that the resurgence of cholera in Comoros -after more than 15 years without reported outbreaks underscored the persistent threat of global transmission.
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‎It said that the case fatality ratio for Africa increased from 1.4 per cent in 2023 to 1.9 per cent in 2024, revealing critical gaps in the delivery of life-saving care.

The WHO said it signaled the fragility of many health systems, along with challenges in access to basic health services.
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‎”One quarter of deaths occurred in the community, outside of health facilities, highlighting serious gaps in access to treatment and the need to strengthen work with communities.
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‎”To combat cholera, governments, donors and communities need to ensure people have access to safe water and hygiene facilities, have accurate information on how to protect themselves, and rapid access to treatment and vaccination when there are outbreaks.
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‎”Strong surveillance and diagnostics will help guide these responses.
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‎ “Further investment in vaccine production is also needed,” it said.
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‎The statement said that a new, innovative Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV), Euvichol-S®, was prequalified in early 2024 and entered the global stockpile.
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‎According to the statement, its addition helped to maintain average stockpile levels above the emergency threshold of 5 million doses for the first six months of 2025.
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‎It however, said that due to the continued high demand for OCV, the temporary change from a two-dose to a single-dose regimen remained in effect throughout 2024 and into 2025.
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‎”Requests for 61 million OCV doses were made to the global stockpile in 2024, and a record 40 million were approved for emergency use in reactive, single-dose campaigns in 16 countries.
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‎”However, supply constraints continued to outstrip demand in 2024, and into 2025.
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‎”Preliminary data show that the global cholera crisis continues into 2025, with 31 countries reporting outbreaks since the beginning of the year,” it said.
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‎The statement said that WHO assessed the global risk from cholera as very high, and was responding with urgency to reduce deaths and contain outbreaks in countries around the world.
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‎It said that WHO continued to support countries through strengthened public health surveillance, case management, and prevention measures.

Others were provision of essential medical supplies; coordination of field deployments with partners; and support for risk communication and community engagement.

Recall that that Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had also in October 2024 reported an alarming increase of cases of cholera by 220 per cent in its epidemiological report.

The Centre said by the end of epidemiological week 39, the country had recorded 10,837 suspected cases, a 239 per cent increase in fatalities compared to 2023.

NCDC also said that the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) for the year stood at 3.3 per cent, slightly higher than the 3.1 per cent recorded in the previous year.

“In the past week alone, 198 new suspected cases were reported across five states, leading to 15 deaths and a weekly CFR of 7.6 per cent.

“The states most affected by the outbreak during week 39 include Adamawa (131 cases), Ebonyi (30 cases), Borno (29 cases), Kano (7 cases), and Jigawa (1 case).
“Adamawa continues to be a hotspot, with 535 suspected cases reported in the past month,” it said.

The agency said Lagos reported 43 per cent of the total number of cases, while Jigawa, Kano, Borno, and Katsina also also reported significant case numbers.

(NAN)