In an update in multiple cholera outbreaks in Africa, many countries with ongoing cholera outbreaks in the African Region have observed resurgence in the disease trends in recent weeks. This phenomenon has been observed in Angola, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some of these outbreaks have already been protracted.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the protracted cholera outbreak goes unabated.
During the week ending 18 June 2017, 602 new cases including 15 deaths (case fatality rate 2.5%) have been reported in the country; compared to 455 cases and seven deaths (case fatality rate 1.54%) reported during the week prior.
These cases emerged from seven provinces in the country with active transmission activity, namely Haut-Lomami, Tanganyika, Kongo-Central, North Kivu and South Kivu, Ecuador and Kinshasa.
Since the beginning of 2017, 13,721 suspected/confirmed cholera cases including 403 deaths (case fatality rate 2.9%) have been reported.
Since the beginning of the cholera outbreak in August 2015, a cumulative 43,073 cases including 1,220 deaths (case fatality rate 2.8%) have been registered from 20 out of the 26 provinces in the country.
Kenya has been experiencing recurrent cholera outbreaks since December 2014. In recent weeks, the country has observed an upsurge in the incidence of cholera cases where three main clusters of transmission have been documented, including 146 participants attending a conference in a Nairobi hotel.
From 1 January – 27 June 2017, 924 cases including nine deaths (case fatality rate 1.0%) have been reported in Kenya.
Angola has been experiencing a cholera outbreak in the north-eastern provinces of Cabinda and Zaire since early December 2016.
The country is currently experiencing a flare up of a cholera outbreak in Cabinda and Zaire Provinces, following an early indication that the situation was under control. This flare up comes against the backdrop of the protracted cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the insecurity, which resulted in mass population displacements to neighboring countries.
The most affected populations are largely migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, living in conditions with limited safe drinking water supplies and poor sanitation and hygiene.
As of 28 June 2017, a total of 455 cases including 24 deaths (case fatality rate 5.3%) have been reported.
A sudden increase in suspected cholera cases was observed on the Tanzanian mainland this past week.
The increases were most notable in the Iringa and Rukwa regions, where the outbreak had been previously controlled.
In total, 30,121 cases and 466 deaths (case fatality rate 1.5%) have been reported since the outbreak started in August 2015: 25,478 cases including 393 deaths on the Tanzania mainland, and 4,643 including 73 deaths from Zanzibar.
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