WHO Alert for Cholera Outbreak Around the World

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of an escalation of cholera outbreaks around the world, especially in countries with a damaged health situation.

RELATED:
WHO Approves New Cholera Vaccine To Help Fight Surge in Cases

According to WHO, the outbreak may be due to the large-scale effects of climate change, so the health agency asked all governments to cooperate to control the disease.

"As the effects of climate change intensify, the situation can be expected to worsen unless we act now to boost cholera prevention," said WHO Cholera Team Leader Philippe Barboza in Geneva.

Barboza warned that, since last January, when this outbreak was classified by the health organization as a grade three emergency, the highest alert level, the situation "has only worsened".

According to data from the UN health agency, between January 2023 and March 2024, at least 824,479 cholera cases and 5,900 cholera-related deaths have been recorded in more than thirty countries. Last March alone, 25,424 new cholera cases were reported in 16 countries, with "particularly alarming" figures in the African and Middle East regions.

For its part, WHO called for immediate "coordinated and immediate" action, which must go beyond future vaccines or medicines to address the global cholera situation, otherwise more lives will be put at risk in the 23 countries currently reporting outbreaks.

"Vaccines alone will not solve the problem. Clean water, sanitation and hygiene are the only sustainable and long-term solutions to end this cholera emergency and prevent future ones," said WHO.