The World Health Organisation has announced that the number of cholera cases decreased globally by 60% in 2018. This is extremely encouraging in order to continue promoting and preventing infection, especially in the main endemic countries including Haiti, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The global decrease in case numbers we are observing appears to be linked to large-scale vaccination campaigns” said Dr Dominique Legros, who heads the WHO cholera programme in Geneva.
The WHO, in collaboration with partners, provides support to ministries of health in cholera-affected countries to implement immediate and long-term cholera control, including surveillance, response to epidemics and preventive measures such as oral vaccination. In 2018, almost 18 million doses of cholera vaccine were sent to 11 countries.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoea infection caused by ingesting food or water contaminated by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The WHO estimates that between 1 and 4 million people are infected by cholera each year with up to 143,000 victims.
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