Description of the situation
15 October 1998
Disease Outbreak Reported
Since June when the outbreak began, cholera cases have been reported in the provinces of Extrême-Nord, Nord and Littoral, constituting a total of 1106 cases and 113 deaths. In the province of Extrême-Nord, 13 districts out of 22 have been affected by the outbreak. The 2 most affected are Kousseri, to the west of Djamena (104 cases and 24 deaths), and urban Maroua, the provincial capital (154 cases and 12 deaths). Since the start of the outbreak, this province has reported a total of 633 cases and 107 deaths (case-fatality rate, 17%). In the province of Nord, only Garoua, the provincial capital 200 km from Maroua, has reported cholera cases (4 cases and 2 deaths).
Cholera is endemic in the province of Littoral, especially in Douala, the country's main economic centre, where since the beginning of the year, 469 cases and 2 deaths have been reported. The Ministry of Health has taken the necessary measures to control the outbreak.