DAKAR, SENEGAL (AP) - An international aid agency says an alarming number of new cholera cases have been reported in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
While cholera is endemic to West Africa, far more cases than usual have been reported, says the U.K.-based office of Doctors Without Borders.
Nigeria experienced its worst cholera outbreak in 19 years earlier this month when 13,000 were sickened and nearly 800 died in two months. That outbreak then spread to neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, where more than 300 people died. Experts fear more cases will develop in Nigeria after recent floods there.
Cholera is a waterborne bacterial infection spread through contaminated water. It causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to dehydration and death within hours.
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