Cameroon Experiences another Outbreak of Cholera

By Prakash Sharma
The West African country of Cameroon is experiencing another cholera outbreak after one last year killed around 600 people.
Since this specific outbreak took hold of the population in March, around 3,000 people have been infected with the disease and around 150 have died. In Mfoundi, the worst-affected district of Cameroon, 500 new cases and 46 deaths were reported last week alone. The capital of the nation, Yaounde, has had more than 1,500 cases reported.
Cholera, which is spread by water infected with human waste, can have mortality rates up to 60% and can kill in as little as six hours.
Baro Famari of Plan International said that government aid is necessary in order to stop the outbreak from reaching 300 deaths per day like it did in Haiti in 2010. "It might get out of control if no action is taken. We need more support", he said. "We don't have enough public toilets, access to clean water is limited and people don't see the link between hygiene and disease spreading".
In order to help suppress and constrain the outbreak, Plan International is spending £120,000 to disinfect water pumps and latrines, along with providing medical help and educating the locals on proper hygiene to avoid the disease.
According to government estimates, it will take anywhere from four to six months before the disease is able to be controlled, and neighboring countries could be affected by the outbreak from the movement of infected people crossing borders-TOPNEWS