According to complete statistics published this Friday by the WHO, the cases reported last year were more than double that of 2021.

A total of 46 countries reported cases, which represents a 25 percent increase compared to the 35 nations that reported infestations in 2021, showing that not only were there more outbreaks, but they were larger.

Of them, seven countries (Afghanistan, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria) each registered more than 10 thousand suspected and confirmed cases.

Experts expressed concern that the larger the outbreak, the more difficult it usually is to control.

Data for the current year suggest that this global rebound continues, the WHO report stressed.

Currently, 24 countries are reporting active outbreaks, and some are in the midst of acute crises.

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that spreads through food and water contaminated with feces containing the bacteria Vibrio cholerae.

It is closely related to the lack of adequate drinking water and sanitation, due to underdevelopment, poverty and conflict.

Climate change also plays a role in this increase, as extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and cyclones trigger new outbreaks and worsen existing ones.

The growing demand for anti-cholera materials has been a challenge to global disease control efforts.

Since October 2022, the International Coordination Group, the body managing emergency vaccine supplies, suspended the standard two-dose vaccination regimen in cholera outbreak response campaigns and instead used a single-dose approach.

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