• April 20, 2024

Yet Another Dangerous Outbreak Has Taken Place In 26 Different Countries!

Several countries across the world are in the grips of a cholera outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday.

A WHO official said cholera cases have surged this year, with outbreaks reported in 26 countries and fatality rates rising sharply. While most of those affected will have mild or no symptoms, cholera can kill within hours if untreated.

“After years of declining numbers, we are seeing a very worrying upsurge of cholera outbreaks around the globe over the past year,” Philippe Barboza, WHO Team Lead for Cholera, told a press briefing in Geneva.

However, the global health body does not have a figure on the exact number of deaths or cases, primarily because there is no standard surveillance system in affected countries.  According to WHO, the cholera outbreaks are larger and more deadly.

The average fatality rate so far this year has almost tripled compared with the five-year average and is currently around 3% in Africa, he added.

A cholera outbreak in Syria has already killed at least 33 people, posing a danger across the frontlines of the country’s 11-year-long war and stirring fears in crowded camps for the displaced.

Barboza also expressed concern about outbreaks in the Horn of Africa and parts of Asia, including Pakistan, where some regions are flooded.

He said only a few million doses of vaccines were available for use before the end of this year, citing a shortage of manufacturers among the problems.

From The Gateway Pundit:

Major ongoing outbreaks are being reported from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

An estimated 39,857 suspected cholera cases and 114 deaths have been reported worldwide since August 24, 2022.

Countries reporting new cases since the previous update are Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Zambia, Malawi, and Haiti.

In a typical year, cholera outbreaks are recorded in fewer than 20 countries.

On Sunday, the government of Haiti said that cholera had killed at least eight individuals for the first time in 3 years.

Malawi has reported 3446 Cholera cases as of September 27, 2022.

More details of this report from VOA News:

While poverty and conflict are major triggers of cholera, climate change is a growing threat.

Philippe Barboza, WHO team lead for Cholera and Epidemic Diarrheal Diseases, said climate change presents an additional layer of complexity and creates the conditions for cholera outbreaks to explode.

“This is what we have seen in southern Africa with the succession of cyclones that affected the eastern part of the African Coast,” Barboza said. “The drought in East Africa is driving population movements, reducing access to water, which is already needed. So, of course, it is a key factor, which is fueling the outbreak. And the same in Sahel and other places.”

Fifteen of the 26 cholera-infected countries are in Africa, according to the WHO.

Barboza said massive climate-induced floods in Southeast Asia also have resulted in large outbreaks of cholera in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Many countries that have made significant progress in controlling cholera are now back to square one, he added.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by contaminated food or water. It can kill within hours if left untreated. Cholera outbreaks can be prevented by ensuring access to clean water, basic sanitation, and hygiene, as well as stepping up surveillance and access to health care, Barboza said.

Here’s an animated video of how Cholera started:

Sources: TheGatewayPundit, VOA News

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