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Cameroon: Cholera Outbreak - Jul 2014

Disaster description

In late April 2014, three cases of cholera were reported in the Far North region of Cameroon, and involved a Nigerian family who had crossed into Cameroon to receive treatment. Neighbouring Nigeria has seen an increase in cases since September 2013: 24,683 cholera cases have been reported in Nigeria between the beginning of 2014 and the first week of July. As of 24 Jul, 1,233 cases have been recorded in the north of Cameroon. Public health officials report over 100 hospital deaths and over 100 deaths outside hospitals. Health authorities report an 18 per cent increase in caseload between 21 and 26 July. The Cameroon Red Cross warns that unless resources are deployed to handle the outbreak, there could be a repeat of the 2010 epidemic that killed more than 4,000 people. The high mobility of people affected means the disease is spreading across regions. (ACAPS, 30 Jul 2014)

As of 10 Aug, Cameroon had registered 1,692 cases and 75 deaths, with the majority (93% of cases and 85% of deaths) reported from the Far North region (UNICEF, 26 Aug 2014).

Flooding in the North Region at the end of August threatened to aggravate the cholera outbreak (IFRC, 8 Sep 2014).

By 2 Nov, 3,020 cases and 177 deaths had been recorded. Approximately 85 per cent of cases were recorded in the Far North region. The Eastern Region recorded its first case on 1 Nov in Gado refugee camp at the border with CAR. As of 6 Nov, a total of 14 cases had been recorded in two refugee sites. (UNICEF, 11 Nov 2014)

By the end of 2014, a total of 3,355 cases had been recorded. No new cases were recorded in the first six weeks of 2015. (UNICEF, 27 Feb 2015).

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