Since the start of the year, more than 300,000 cases of cholera and 2,326 deaths have been recorded worldwide, as the World Health Organization warns of a critical shortage of oral vaccines.
In a new situation report, the WHO said that from 1 January 2024 to 28 July 2024, a cumulative total of 307 433 cholera cases and 2326 deaths had been reported from 26 countries across five WHO regions.
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The Eastern Mediterranean Region recorded the highest numbers, followed by the African Region, the South-East Asia Region, the Region of the Americas, and the European Region. No outbreaks were reported in the Western Pacific Region during this time.
Cholera response
“The cholera response continues to be affected by a critical shortage of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) as demand continues to outpace supply, with 105 million doses requested by 18 countries since January 2023, nearly double the 55 million doses produced in this period,” a spokesman said.
WHO classified the global resurgence of cholera as a grade 3 emergency in January 2023, the highest internal level for emergencies in WHO. Based on the number of outbreaks and their geographic expansion, alongside the shortage of vaccines and other resources, WHO continues to assess the risk at the global level as very high and the event remains classified as a grade 3 emergency.
More information on cholera upsurge (2021-present): https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/cholera-upsurge/.
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