The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Chad has risen to 13, with 239 cases reported since the infection was officially declared to be spreading on July 24, according to Chad’s Health Ministry, which said that about 50,800 people had received the cholera vaccine as part of efforts to contain the outbreak.
N’Djamena among the hardest-hit areas
The ministry said in its official bulletin that the fatality rate had reached 5.4%, warning of the seriousness of the epidemiological situation in the hardest-hit areas. The outbreak is concentrated mainly in Hadjer-Lamis province and the capital, N’Djamena.
N’Djamena alone recorded 11 of the total deaths during August, putting the capital at the top of the affected areas, according to figures in the ministry’s bulletin.
Vaccination campaign to contain the outbreak
As part of the health response, about 50,800 people received the cholera vaccine after the outbreak was officially declared on July 24, while the first recorded deaths date back to June 13.
Concurrent outbreaks in African countries
The health crisis in Chad comes amid a similar cholera outbreak in several African countries, including the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.
