Death toll mounting from cholera outbreaks in southern Africa

Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week reported the outbreak began in October 2023 and has risen to more than 10,000 cases, with nearly 500 reported deaths across Zambia. The country has been reporting cholera cases at a rate of about 400 new cases per day, according to a Wednesday update from WaterAid, a British non-governmental organization. Zambian schools and colleges have been closed to slow the spread of infection. Children younger than 15 make up more than half of those infected. The neighboring country of Zimbabwe has reported over 18,000 cholera cases and dozens of confirmed deaths since an outbreak a year ago, according to UNICEF. Cholera outbreaks typically occur when food or drinking water is contaminated with bacteria, usually from contact with infected fecal matter spread by poor sanitation. The infection can be fatal within hours if untreated.

Is it just Zambia and Zimbabwe? Africa CDC reported protracted cholera outbreaks in Malawi, South Africa, and Mozambique. The World Health Organization recorded over 1,500 new cases last week, an increase of over 7 percent from the previous week. Over 200,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths have been reported across 13 countries since 2023, according to UNICEF.

How is the outbreak being treated? A football stadium in Zambia’s capital city of Lusaka is being used as a makeshift treatment center. Several humanitarian organizations have also sent medical supplies and personnel to care for patients. The Zambian Ministry of Health received over a million oral cholera vaccines from UNICEF and WHO last week. UNICEF has also opened treatment centers across Zimbabwe and launched public service campaigns on cholera prevention.

Dig deeper: Listen to Onize Ohikere’s November report on the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe.