Cholera outbreak in Africa is affecting 28 million people in ´emergency for children´

The UN Children´s Fund, UNICEF,  said the worst cholera outbreaks to hit the African continent in years, are now unfolding in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The world has been grappling since mid-2021with an acute upsurge in what is the seventh deadly cholera pandemic in recorded history, the World Health Organization said.

“The cholera outbreak in eastern and southern Africa isn’t just an outbreak; it’s an emergency for children,” UNICEF said.

UNICEF is focused on providing essential life-saving support, including emergency health supplies, medical products, technical support for outbreak control, risk communication and community engagement for prevention and early treatment, and safe water as well as nutrition supplies.

A bacterium called Vibrio cholerae causes cholera infection. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated. Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical to prevent and control the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases. Severe cases will need rapid treatment with intravenous fluids and antibiotics.

Approximately 1 in 10 people who get sick with cholera will develop symptoms including:

• profuse watery diarrhea, sometimes described as “rice-water stools”
• vomiting
• thirst
• leg cramps.
• restlessness or irritability.

Oral or intravenous hydration is the primary treatment for cholera. In conjunction with hydration, treatment with antibiotics is recommended for severely ill patients, which is also recommended for patients who have severe or some dehydration and continue to pass a large volume of stool during rehydration treatment.

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