Cholera cases in Africa surge to 3 times higher than reported in 2022
[November 21, 2025]
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Cholera remains a “major battle” in Africa,
according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
which warned Thursday of more cases as the rainy season begins in most
affected countries.
The Africa CDC said the number of cases of cholera stands at three times
higher than those reported in 2022. Five countries account for almost
90% of the more than 300,000 cases reported so far this year, it said,
with more than 7,000 people dying from the disease.
Last week, the body said the continent was experiencing the worst
cholera outbreak in 25 years.
Cholera is a waterborne infectious disease spread through contaminated
food and water, leading to diarrhea and dehydration.
Congo has reported the highest number of cases in the ongoing outbreak,
and health officials are also concerned about Angola’s high transmission
rate. Other countries with a large number of cases include Sudan, South
Sudan, and Nigeria.
The Africa CDC has called for the strengthening of water, sanitation,
and hygiene infrastructure in African countries to help prevent the
spread of the disease.
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 “44% of the population in Angola
lacks access to safe drinking water, and only about 55% has
sanitation,” said Yap Boum II, the Africa CDC's deputy incident
manager.
Cameroon is the latest African country to report cases, with two
cases near its border with Nigeria. Africa CDC noted a challenge in
access to the region due to its rocky and mountainous terrain, but
said outbreak control measures had been activated in both Cameroon
and Nigeria.
A total of 24 countries in Africa have recorded the outbreak, and
health officials are using existing outbreak response systems to
control it.
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