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An outbreak is a sudden rise in the number of cases of a disease more than normal expectancy in a community or geographical area. An outbreak can be declared an epidemic when the disease spreads rapidly to many people.

Disease outbreaks are usually caused by an infection, transmitted through person-to-person contact, animal-to-person contact, or from the environment or other media. Outbreaks may also occur following exposure to chemicals or to radioactive materials. For example, Minamata disease is caused by exposure to mercury.

Overview. Since the last situation report on the multi-country outbreak of cholera was published on 4 August 2023 (covering data reported until 15 of July), and as of 15 August 2023, three new outbreaks of cholera and/or Acute Watery Diarrhoea were reported from Uganda, Sudan, and the Republic of the Congo.

Current data for 2023 suggest that this global upsurge is continuing. Twenty-four countries are currently reporting active outbreaks, with some countries in the midst of acute crises. The increased demand for cholera materials has been a challenge for disease control efforts globally.

An infectious disease outbreak is an increase in the occurrence of a particular infectious disease above what is normally expected. For example, a cluster of children absent from school due to gastrointestinal illness could represent an outbreak if they are found to have the same infectious disease.

An outbreak can be suspected if data from several cases display common characteristics (e.g., occurrence of many cases of a disease in the same period of time, in the same area, and with similar manifestations).

Since 1 January 2022, a cumulative total of 238 188 cholera cases has been reported to the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), including 4 327 deaths with a case fatality ratio (CFR) of 1.8% as of 10 September 2023 (Table 1).