WHO reports rise in cholera deaths and shifts in meningitis and plague trends

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a 30% increase in cholera deaths in 2025, despite a decline in reported cases, alongside updated data on meningitis and plague, according to a press release. The findings, published on September 29, 2026, appear in the latest edition of the Weekly Epidemiological Record. In 2025, 47 countries reported 451,499 cholera cases and 7,870 deaths to WHO. This marks the highest number of annual cholera deaths reported to the agency since 1999. WHO noted that these figures reflect surveillance data and not the actual global burden, which is estimated to be substantially higher.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria, spreading through food and water contaminated with faeces. It is particularly common in areas without safe water and sanitation. While preventable and treatable, cholera can be fatal if severe dehydration is not rapidly treated. Bacterial meningitis, meanwhile, continues to burden the African meningitis belt, extending from Senegal to Ethiopia. Plague is a bacterial disease that usually spreads between animals through fleas and can occasionally infect people.

Seven countries — Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen — accounted for around 90% of all reported cholera cases and deaths globally. The WHO African Region reported a 34% increase in cases and a 58% increase in deaths compared with 2024. More than one in five reported cholera deaths occurred outside health facilities. Among patients treated in health facilities, the global fatality rate remained below 1%, though it exceeded that threshold in 12 countries. Global production of oral cholera vaccines more than doubled between 2022 and 2025, rising from around 30 million to approximately 80 million doses annually.

“The rise in cholera deaths is a reminder of the challenge ahead,” said Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. He stressed that “no one should be dying from cholera today when we have the tools to prevent and treat this disease.” In 2025, 24 of the 26 countries in the African meningitis belt reported 21,526 suspected cases and 971 deaths, corresponding to a fatality rate of 4.5%. Since the introduction of the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine in 2010, cases of serogroup A have declined by more than 99% among vaccinated populations. In 2025, Niger became the first country to carry out a nationwide campaign using the Men5CV/MMCV vaccine.

Between 2019 and 2025, 10 countries reported suspected human plague cases to WHO, six of which reported confirmed cases. A total of 3,847 suspected cases and 423 deaths were reported, corresponding to a case fatality rate of 11%. Most cases came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar, where plague remains endemic in some areas. WHO underlined that continued surveillance of rodent and other animal populations, together with rapid outbreak response, is essential to detect plague early. The agency emphasized that targeted investments in water, sanitation, surveillance, vaccination, and quality care can help reverse current trends.