Health
Cholera Tops Africa’s Disease Emergency Events as Climate Change Fuels Contagion
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Medical staff disinfect a equipment beside a cholera treatment tents in Beira, Mozambique.
Photographer: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Cholera topped the list of disease outbreaks in Africa last year as a warming world increased both flooding and droughts in countries with the lowest health spending and fewest resources — often in remote, conflict-prone areas.
Poor water conditions and sanitation have led to recurrent outbreaks of the diarrheal disease, with more than 204,000 suspected cholera cases and a 12% death rate from 30,583 confirmed incidents, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.