Kenya reports sharp drop in cholera cases, as numbers rise elsewhere

A child is given the Cholera vaccine.

Kenya has rapidly reduced the number of cholera cases but remains one of the top 20 most affected countries by the epidemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Ministry of Health reported that last year, Kenya confirmed only 302 cases and three deaths.

This is according to the global cholera statistics for 2024, published by WHO, with official numbers from all countries.

Kenya’s burden is a sharp drop from the 8,926 reported cases of cholera in 2023 and 145 deaths, when Kenya was facing an outbreak that began in 2022.

Kenya has been vaccinating people in most affected areas with the oral cholera vaccine.

“A record 40 million [doses] were approved for emergency use in reactive, single-dose campaigns in 16 countries: Bangladesh, Comoros, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” WHO said.

“While further investment is being made to increase OCV production, supply constraints are expected to persist into 2025.”

Globally, cholera cases rose by five per cent and deaths by 50 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023, with more than 6,000 people dying from a disease that is both preventable and treatable.

“While these numbers are alarming, they are underestimates of the true burden of cholera,” WHO said.

It noted that conflict, climate change, population displacement and long-term deficiencies in water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure continue to fuel the rise of cholera, a disease caused by the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, which spreads rapidly through faeces-contaminated water.

“The number of deaths, particularly those occurring in the community, from this preventable and treatable disease is of deep concern, as it reveals critical gaps in the delivery of life-saving care, signalling the fragility of many health systems and persistent inequity in access to basic services,” the WHO said in its global situation report for cholera, 2024.

Sixty countries reported cases in 2024, an increase from 45 in 2023. The burden of the disease remained concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, which collectively accounted for 98 per cent of all reported cases.

The scope of cholera outbreaks continued to expand in 2024, with 12 countries each reporting more than 10,000 cases, seven of which experiencing large outbreaks for the first time in the year.

The case fatality ratio for Africa increased from 1.4 per cent in 2023 to 1.9 per cent in 2024, revealing critical gaps in the delivery of life-saving care, and signalling the fragility of many health systems, along with challenges in access to basic health services. Kenya’s case fatality ratio is one per cent.

WHO advised governments, donors and communities to ensure people have access to safe water and hygiene facilities, have accurate information on how to protect themselves, and rapid access to treatment and vaccination when there are outbreaks. Strong surveillance and diagnostics will help guide these responses. Further investment in vaccine production is also needed.

A new, oral cholera vaccine (OCV), Euvichol-S, was prequalified in early 2024 and entered the global stockpile.

“Its addition helped to maintain average stockpile levels above the emergency threshold of five million doses for the first six months of 2025. However, due to the continued high demand for OCV, the temporary change from a two-dose to a single-dose regimen remained in effect throughout 2024 and into 2025,” WHO said.

Requests for 61 million OCV doses were made to the global stockpile in 2024, and a record 40 million were approved for emergency use in reactive, single-dose campaigns in 16 countries. However, supply constraints continued to outstrip demand in 2024, and into 2025.

“WHO assesses the global risk from cholera as very high, and is responding with urgency to reduce deaths and contain outbreaks in countries around the world,” the statement said.