N'Djamena, Sep 6 : The number of people killed in a cholera outbreak in Chad since July has reached 113, the Chadian health ministry said in a statement.

A total of 1,631 suspected cases have been recorded.

The statement said the data was reported during a meeting chaired by Public Health Minister Abdelmadjid Abderahim to discuss strategies to prevent the disease from spreading.

Chad has received 1,120,295 doses of cholera vaccine, the statement said, adding that the vaccines are being deployed to the eastern area for a vaccination campaign.

The government has urged Chadians to strictly follow hygiene measures to help curb the spread of infections.

The first cholera case was detected in the Dougui refugee camp in the eastern Ouaddai region on July 13. The camp hosts approximately 20,000 Sudanese refugees.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned in early September that cholera remains the major public health concern in Africa in terms of the number of cases and fatalities.

Some 23 cholera-affected African countries have reported a total of 239,754 cases and over 5,274 related deaths since the beginning of this year, data showed, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the WHO, Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is a global public health threat and indicates inequality and a lack of social and economic development. Access to safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene is essential to prevent cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Most people with cholera have mild or moderate diarrhoea and can be treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the disease can progress rapidly, so starting treatment quickly is vital to save lives. Patients with severe disease need intravenous fluids, ORS and antibiotics.

Countries need strong epidemiological and laboratory surveillance to swiftly detect and monitor outbreaks and guide responses.

Cholera outbreaks occur regularly in some countries. In others, they are less frequent, and it may be years between outbreaks. Cholera is linked to limited access to safe water, basic sanitation facilities and poor hygiene practices. This may be due to conflict, population displacement, climate events like cyclones, floods or drought, and lack of investment in maintaining and improving WASH services and infrastructure.

The number of cholera cases reported to the WHO has continued to rise in recent years. In 2023, a total of 535,321 cases and 4007 deaths were reported to the WHO from 45 countries. The discrepancy between these figures and the numbers estimated by researchers is likely due to limited surveillance systems and cases not being recorded out of fear of repercussions for trade and tourism.

/IANS