Tokyo, 05 August, /AJMEDIA/
Since the beginning of the year and as of 15 July 2023, at least 25 countries have reported cholera cases, said an external situation report on multi-country outbreak of cholera published by World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.
According to WHO, during the same period in 2022, 16 countries reported cases. With reference to historical transmission patterns and seasonality, countries in West Africa have entered the high transmission period with the rainy season that spans from May to October. On the other hand, heavily affected countries such as Mozambique are in preparedness mode for the upcoming rainy season in September, while still managing ongoing outbreaks.
In July 2023, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared an onset of El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years. WMO forecasts there is a 90% of probability of the El Niño event continuing during the second half of 2023 (WMO, July 2023).1 The El Niño conditions are highly likely to alter the dynamics of cholera outbreaks as increased rainfall, flooding, hurricanes, cyclones, and drought can reduce access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and limited healthcare resources. Warmer water temperature associated with the El Niño conditions can also favour the growth and proliferation of Vibrio cholerae in aquatic environments, which can increase the likelihood of cholera outbreaks. Therefore, strengthened preparedness will be required over coming months. The mortality associated with these outbreaks is of particular concern. Many countries continue to report higher Case Fatality Ratios (CFR) than in previous years. The average cholera CFR reported globally in 2021 was 1.9% (2.9% in Africa), a significant increase above the targeted rate (