In order to reduce the risk of getting cholera in areas where cholera is spreading: it's important for people to
drink and use safe water;
Wash your hands often with soap and clean water, use clean toilets, cook food properly. This way the risk of contacting the cholera virus will be limited.
With the use of carefully designed message, visuals have been produced and used to explain ways on how to fight Cholera, an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. People can get sick when they swallow food or water contaminated with cholera bacteria.
The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe and life-threatening. Once someone discovers that he or she is infected, it is important to visit a nearby hospital or health district in the area.
Oral or intravenous hydration is the primary treatment for cholera. In conjunction with hydration, treatment with antibiotics is recommended for severely ill patients. It is also recommended for patients who have severe or some dehydration and continue to pass a large volume of stool during rehydration treatment.
The cholera bacteria is passed through feces. It is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated by the feces of an infected person.
This occurs more often in underdeveloped countries lacking proper water supplies and sewage disposal.
Some symptoms that tell that some has contacted cholera; profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, thirst, leg cramps, restlessness.
Cholera is a bacterial infection of the intestines. The good news is, cholera is easy to treat if it's caught early. People who have mild to moderate cases usually get better within a week. Even people with severe cases of cholera recover fully in a week or so if they get medical care.
Between 13 June 2022 and 12 June 2023, 19,087 cholera cases were reported across the country, with 1,880 confirmed cases and 450 recorded deaths (meaning a 2.4% fatality rate) (CCOUSP)
According to the Public Health Emergency Operations Coordination Center, Cameroon has been experiencing a cholera outbreak since October 2021 .
Although the number of reported cases was relatively low between late November 2022 and March 2023, there has been a significant increase since 27 March, particularly in Centre region, making it the new epicentre of the epidemic.
The epidemic has since mostly affected Centre, Littoral, South, and West regions, with new cases reported in 29 out of 58 districts countrywide. East region declared one confirmed case on 1 May.
The cholera outbreak coincides with a crisis in the health system in Cameroon, after health workers went on strike in early June 2023 because here is also a global cholera vaccine shortage crisis affecting the country, limiting the response in the short term (Gavi 05/06/2023).