Description of the situation
26 February 1999
Disease Outbreak Reported
The World Health Organization has been informed by several Ministries of Health in countries of eastern and southern Africa of an increase in cholera cases and deaths. The situation in eastern Africa is similar to that at the end of 1997 when almost all countries in the Horn of Africa were affected by severe cholera outbreaks or threathened by them. Most of the countries then affected continued to report cases of cholera to WHO throughout 1998. However, sudden increases in cases and deaths are now being reported in the same countries as well as countries in southern Africa .
Countries recently reporting new or increased cholera activity are: Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.