Spike in cholera in Cameroon kills 29 in one week

Twenty-nine people have died from cholera in Cameroon in the space of a week, the health minister said on Friday.

Most of the deaths occurred in three cities in the west of the country, which has seen a spike in cases of the water-borne disease.

Cholera is an acute form of diarrhoea that is treatable with antibiotics and hydration but can kill within hours if left untreated.

“We saw a spike in cases of cholera in the Southwest region between March 16 and 22, 2022, with more than 300 cases registered,” Health Minister Manaouda Malachie tweeted.

He said there were “20 deaths in Kumba,… two deaths in Buea,… five deaths in Tiko (and) two deaths in Yaounde”, the capital.

A total of 62 people had died since October 2021 and over the period nearly 2,100 cases had been detected, Malachie wrote, adding that the authorities were coordinating a vaccination campaign and other measures to contain the outbreak.

Outbreaks occur periodically in Cameroon, a west African nation of more than 25 million inhabitants. The last epidemic was between January and August 2020, when 66 people died.

Cholera is caused by a germ that is typically transmitted by poor sanitation. People become infected when they swallow food or water carrying the bug.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in early 2021 there were between 1.3 and four million cases of cholera per year around the world, leading to between 21,000 and 143,000 deaths.

Twenty-nine people have died from cholera in Cameroon in the space of a week, the health minister said on Friday.
A Lagos State Special Offences (Mobile) Court sitting at Oshodi has sentenced a socialite, Ms Chidinma Ogbulu, to two years in prison for distributing petrol as a souvenir during a party. Chief Magistrate Kehinde Ogundare convicted and sentenced the socialite following her guilty plea on Thursday. Ogundare held that prosecution proved its case against the…
The Police Command in Lagos State has arrested one Insp Dele Reuben who was captured in a video harassing a motorist over the now-suspended-tinted-glass permit.
A Lagos State Special Offences (Mobile) Court sitting at Oshodi has sentenced a socialite, Ms Chidinma Ogbulu, to two years in prison for distributing petrol as a souvenir during a party.
They say you're living on the edge, but you aren't. Man has somehow lived through nature's gifts of cliffs, mountains and edges. Here are 5 places where people literally live on the edge. Switzerland  The Alpine town of Lauterbrunnen has distinct chalet-style houses plus small village churches. Asides the erected buildings the breathtaking serenity of…
The Nigerian Army has arrested a soldier for alleged killing of seven civilians, including a three-year-old girl in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno.
The 37,000-gt Global Mercy was welcomed in Rotterdam, Netherlands over the last two weeks as the ship opened its doors to the public and global dignitaries for tours before it will begin active service in May in Dakar, Senegal - the first of many missions in the next 50 years on the African continent.  With Senegalese ministerial…
Africa is not left out in the struggle for gender balance and equality as it keeps searching for ways to deepen empowerment. This was further buttressed as the envoys of Cameroun, Sierra Leone, and South Africa, commemorating the 37th International Women’s Day in Nigeria, over the weekend, held a dialogue on their achievements and learning…
Africa’s global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and leading Pan-African Payments Company Cellulant (Cellulant.io) have announced a partnership that will extend payment services for merchants and consumers across 19 key African countries in which UBA operates. These countries include  Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,…
The peaceful Nigerian fishing village of Manga sits not far from Cameroon's border, but its residents know all about the separatist war raging inside their West African neighbour.
Download logoThe Government of Japan has decided to provide approximately 70,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in Japan, through the COVAX facility, as part of assistance by Japan in order to contribute to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 in Cameroon. These vaccines will be airlifted from Japan to Cameroon on March 19. These…
Download logoOn the 9th March 2022, the Kingdom of Morocco signed the Revised Constitution of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and the Memorandum of Implementation (MoI) of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). The signing Ceremony organized by the African Union Commission through its Office of the Legal Counsel, was witnessed by H.E…