The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in Cameroon
Cholera is an enteric disease caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated by the toxins of the bacteria - Vibrio Cholerae. Its transmission is exacerbated by poor sanitary conditions and poor hygiene practices. Affected individuals may present with severe symptoms such as watery diarrhoea...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Public Health in Practice |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535222000714 |
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| author | Shuaibu Saidu Musa Kengo Nathan Ezie Godfred Yawson Scott Muktar Musa Shallangwa Adamu Muhammad Ibrahim Tobi Nifemi Olajide Muhammad Aisha Hameed Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III |
| author_facet | Shuaibu Saidu Musa Kengo Nathan Ezie Godfred Yawson Scott Muktar Musa Shallangwa Adamu Muhammad Ibrahim Tobi Nifemi Olajide Muhammad Aisha Hameed Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III |
| author_sort | Shuaibu Saidu Musa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cholera is an enteric disease caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated by the toxins of the bacteria - Vibrio Cholerae. Its transmission is exacerbated by poor sanitary conditions and poor hygiene practices. Affected individuals may present with severe symptoms such as watery diarrhoea and vomiting that can lead to death within few hours. Cameroon is experiencing its worst cholera outbreak in decades. The outbreak is severest in the South-West and the Littoral regions. As of the time of writing, in six regions of the country, 6652 suspected cases of cholera including 134 deaths (CFR 2%) have been reported and the number is rising. Shortage of safe drinking water and contamination of rivers has exacerbated the outbreak, especially in the rural and hard to reach communities. The trans-border movement at the South-West region, defecation in the open and on rivers, and overcrowding at the Littoral region have been particularly challenging towards curbing the outbreak. Despite the challenges, Cameroon's health authorities have been working to bring the situation under control by engaging in community sensitization on good hygiene habits, disinfection of houses and vaccination campaigns. In the light of these, it is recommended that Cameroon should improve and strengthen its vaccination campaign across the country. Adequate health systems should be established at the point of entry to prevent cross-border cholera transmission and retransmission. Access to hard to reach communities should be improved so that vaccines and basic health care and sanitation services such as provision of safe drinking water can be provided. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:03:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-da79acc85fd7458486852217146d7551 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5352 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:03:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Public Health in Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-da79acc85fd7458486852217146d75512022-12-22T03:54:21ZengElsevierPublic Health in Practice2666-53522022-12-014100295The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in CameroonShuaibu Saidu Musa0Kengo Nathan Ezie1Godfred Yawson Scott2Muktar Musa Shallangwa3Adamu Muhammad Ibrahim4Tobi Nifemi Olajide5Muhammad Aisha Hameed6Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III7Department of Nursing Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria; Corresponding author.Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Garoua, Garoua, CameroonKwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaMuhammad Shuwa Memorial Hospital Maiduguri, Borno, NigeriaDepartment of Immunology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, NigeriaFaculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NigeriaDepartment of Microbiology, Gombe State University, Gombe, NigeriaDepartment of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom; Faculty of Management and Development Studies, University of the Philippines Open University, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines; Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandCholera is an enteric disease caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated by the toxins of the bacteria - Vibrio Cholerae. Its transmission is exacerbated by poor sanitary conditions and poor hygiene practices. Affected individuals may present with severe symptoms such as watery diarrhoea and vomiting that can lead to death within few hours. Cameroon is experiencing its worst cholera outbreak in decades. The outbreak is severest in the South-West and the Littoral regions. As of the time of writing, in six regions of the country, 6652 suspected cases of cholera including 134 deaths (CFR 2%) have been reported and the number is rising. Shortage of safe drinking water and contamination of rivers has exacerbated the outbreak, especially in the rural and hard to reach communities. The trans-border movement at the South-West region, defecation in the open and on rivers, and overcrowding at the Littoral region have been particularly challenging towards curbing the outbreak. Despite the challenges, Cameroon's health authorities have been working to bring the situation under control by engaging in community sensitization on good hygiene habits, disinfection of houses and vaccination campaigns. In the light of these, it is recommended that Cameroon should improve and strengthen its vaccination campaign across the country. Adequate health systems should be established at the point of entry to prevent cross-border cholera transmission and retransmission. Access to hard to reach communities should be improved so that vaccines and basic health care and sanitation services such as provision of safe drinking water can be provided.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535222000714CameroonCholeraOutbreakTransmissionVaccineSanitation |
| spellingShingle | Shuaibu Saidu Musa Kengo Nathan Ezie Godfred Yawson Scott Muktar Musa Shallangwa Adamu Muhammad Ibrahim Tobi Nifemi Olajide Muhammad Aisha Hameed Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno, III The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in Cameroon Public Health in Practice Cameroon Cholera Outbreak Transmission Vaccine Sanitation |
| title | The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in Cameroon |
| title_full | The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in Cameroon |
| title_fullStr | The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in Cameroon |
| title_full_unstemmed | The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in Cameroon |
| title_short | The challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in Cameroon |
| title_sort | challenges of addressing the cholera outbreak in cameroon |
| topic | Cameroon Cholera Outbreak Transmission Vaccine Sanitation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535222000714 |
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