Cameroon: Cholera Outbreak - Jul 2018
Disaster types
The cholera outbreak in Cameroon, officially declared by the Ministry of Health on 15 July 2018, is steadily declining, after peaking in week 29 with 42 cases. In week 32 (week ending 12 August 2018), four new suspected cholera cases were reported, compared to 21 cases reported in week 31 and 40 cases in week 30. Three of the new cases reported during the reporting week came from Central Region and one case from North Region...Insecurity in parts of the country (especially South West Region), where there are reports of frequent kidnappings and attacks by organized group of bandits, may have implications on surveillance and response efforts. Additionally, the presence of large number of refugees (from Central African Republic and Nigeria) living in unsanitary and unhygienic conditions, and with limited access to healthcare services, is an important factor. The rainy season, which began in May, is expected to last until September and could facilitate further spread of the disease. (WHO, 10 Aug 2018)
The cholera outbreak that started on 18 May 2018 (Week 20) in Cameroon is persisting. The outbreak initially spread from the North region of the country to the Central and Littoral regions. Although the North and Littoral regions continue to report new suspected cases, the Central region has not reported suspected cases since 27 August 2018 (Week 35). Since our last report on 7 September 2018 (Weekly Bulletin 36) and as of 24 September 2018, an additional 116 suspected cases and 11 deaths have been reported, raising the total number of suspected cholera cases to 367, including 31 deaths (case fatality ratio 8.4%), 14 of which occurred in the community. (WHO, 1 Oct 2018)
Cholera has been detected in Far North region, bringing to four the number regions where the disease has erupted. Seven of the 38 suspected cases reported between 3 – 12 October were in Far North, where two deaths were also recorded. Humanitarian organizations and the Ministry of Health are working to curb the spread of infection. However, the area where the disease has been detected in Far North is hard to reach due to insecurity and bad roads. Since cholera broke out in July, 470 cases and 34 deaths have been registered. (OCHA, 15 Oct 2018)
Outbreak is showing a decreasing trend. Between 12 to 16 October 2018, one case was confirmed in the Littoral region and thirty seven new suspected cases notified in North (n=36) and Littoral. Two deaths were reported in the North. No new case was confirmed in the Central region since the 27 august 2018. (WHO, 19 Oct 2018)
The cholera outbreak in Cameroon continue to improve. From 1 January 2019 to date, five new cases were reported in the north region.The Central and Littoral regions have not reported new cases since 27 August 2018 and 11 October 2018, respectively. The outbreak has affected four out of 10 regions in Cameroon, these include North, Far North, Central and Littoral region. (WHO, 25 Jan 2019)
Cameroon continues to report cases of cholera in 2019. Seven new suspected cases including one death were notified by Pitoa, Garoua 1 and Garoua 2 health districts from 1 to 5 April 2019. In March 2019, additional five new confirmed cases were notified by Institut Pasteur Laboratory in Cameroon. As of 5 April 2019, a total of 1 039 suspected cases were reported. (WHO, 28 Apr 2019)
The Ministry of Public Health of Chad notified WHO on 22 July 2019 of an outbreak of cholera affecting two villages in Youé health district, Mayo Kebbi East Province on the border with Cameroon. The outbreak started on 12 July 2019 ... The current outbreak takes place in the context of an ongoing outbreak of cholera in the neighbouring region of Cameroon. Mass population exchanges between the two regions are likely to contribute to further spread and the situation could be exacerbated by the onset of the rainy season, open defecation, and use of shallow wells as water sources. (WHO, 28 Jul 2019)
The cholera outbreak in the North and Far North regions of Cameroon, which started in February 2019, has been improving in the past weeks. From 5 to 20 August 2019, a total of 69 new suspected cholera cases and three deaths were reported from North (31 cases and 2 deaths) and Far North (38 cases and 1 death) regions.
As of 20 August 2019, a cumulative total of 467 suspected cholera cases and 23 deaths (case fatality ratio 5%) has been reported. The majority, over 70% of the reported cases and deaths, occurred in the North region (331 cases, 16 deaths), while 137 cases and 7 deaths came from the Far North region (WHO, 25 Aug 2019)
The cholera outbreak in Cameroon is improving in the North and Far North region. As of 23 September 2019, 613 cases and 31 deaths were recorded (CFR 5%) in North and Far North region. To date, 9 out of 15 health districts are affected in the North (Bibémi, Figuil, Garoua I, Garoua II, Gashiga, Golombe, Ngong, Pitoa, Tcholliré) and 5 out of 30 health districts (Kaélé, Moutourwa, Kar Hay, Guidiguis and Maroua 1) in the Far North. (WHO, 29 Sep 2019)
The Cholera outbreak continues to improve in the 3 affected regions of Cameroon (North, Far North and South West). Since, the beginning of the year 2020, cholera cases are reported only from the 2 districts of the South West (Bakassi and Ekondo Titi). No new cases of Cholera were reported in North and Far North regions since epidemiological weeks 51 and 48 respectively. From January 2019 to date, a total of 1307 cases of cholera, with 55 deaths were reported from the three affected regions and the majority of those cases (57%) were reported from the North region. (WHO, 12 Jan 2020)
Appeals & Response plans
Govt. Cameroon: Plan national de réponse à l'épidémie de choléra au Cameroun, Août - Octobre 2018
République du Cameroun : Ministère de la Santé publique
WHO: WHO AFRO Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, Week 2: 6 - 12 January 2020 Data as reported by: 17:00; 12 January 2020
UNICEF: UNICEF Chad Humanitarian Situation Report, 31 October 2019
WHO: WHO AFRO Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, Week 1: 30 December 2019 - 5 January 2020 Data as reported by: 17:00; 5 January 2020
WHO: WHO AFRO Outbreaks and Other Emergencies, Week 52: 23 - 29 December 2019 Data as reported by: 17:00; 29 December 2019