The Threat of Cholera in Africa

Abstract

A multi-country cholera outbreak has occurred in several developing countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania since mid-2021. The current multi-country cholera outbreak has spread primarily in Africa. As of February 2023, cholera cases have been reported in approximately 25 countries, 15 (60%) of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Health Organization, 547,626 confirmed cases and 4,927 total deaths were recorded until August 2023. Of these, approximately 33.68% cases (184,474) and 64.2% deaths (3,165) occurred in African countries, and the number may increase in the coming months. Although various organizations and local administrations have made response efforts, the response capacity for multiple outbreaks is insufficient, and the outbreak has been exacerbated by a global lack of resources, cholera vaccine shortages, climatic effects, a lack of supplies and the occurrence of other health emergencies. Herein, the rapid review method was used, with emphasis on available and recent global information found in Google Scholar, PubMed and data publicly available from websites. This review article provides current alert information regarding the broad spread and upsurge characteristics of the ongoing cholera outbreak.