Worldwide fewer cholera cases reported, but data remain uncertain
WHO and ECDC report fewer cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea than in the same period of 2025, with important caveats about reporting.
Worldwide, fewer cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea were reported in 2026 up to the end of August than in the same period a year earlier. The decline is encouraging, but WHO warns that reporting delays and differences between countries do not prove a genuine reduction in transmission.
Between 1 January and 30 August 2026, WHO recorded 275,284 cases of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea in 28 countries. In the same period of 2025, there were 480,199 reported cases in 32 countries, a decline of 43 per cent. According to WHO, the reported number of deaths fell from 6,180 to 2,601.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control also reports lower figures. By 28 September, 249,136 cases and 1,970 deaths had been reported worldwide, compared with 436,268 cases and 4,449 deaths in the same period of 2025.
The two totals are not directly comparable: WHO closes its figures on 30 August and combines cholera and acute watery diarrhoea, while ECDC uses a later cut-off date and a different reporting basis. Both sources do point in the same direction: recorded numbers are lower than a year earlier.
The decline is not uniform everywhere. WHO reports, for example, that Nigeria reported fewer cases in August than in July, while the number of reported cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rose. Outbreaks remain active in Afghanistan, Yemen and parts of Africa.
The main uncertainty concerns the quality of reporting. According to WHO, countries may report cases later, surveillance and laboratory capacity may vary, and suspected and confirmed cases are not counted in the same way everywhere. A low number of reported cases may therefore also mean that measurement is less effective.
Cholera is generally preventable and treatable through safe water, sanitation, rapid diagnosis and medical care. The new figures are therefore a reason for cautious hope, but not proof that the global outbreak is over. Conflict zones, flood-affected areas and places with limited access to clean water remain particularly vulnerable.
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The figures were checked against two international public-health agencies and interpreted cautiously. The text does not claim a definitive global decline in transmission.
- confirmed WHO reported 275,284 cases and 2,601 deaths up to and including 30 August 2026. — These figures appear in the WHO epidemiological bulletin. source
- confirmed WHO reported 43 per cent fewer cases and 58 per cent fewer deaths than in the same period of 2025. — The comparison appears in the same WHO bulletin. source
- confirmed ECDC reported 249,136 cases and 1,970 deaths up to and including 28 September 2026. — These figures appear in the ECDC weekly report. source
- confirmed WHO warns that reporting delays and differences in surveillance complicate interpretation. — WHO explicitly mentions these limitations alongside the figures. source
Editor's note
The decline concerns reported cases, not proven transmission. WHO and ECDC use different cut-off dates and definitions; regional outbreaks and under-reporting remain important caveats.Sources
- Weekly Epidemiological Record, issue 39 — World Health Organization
- Communicable Disease Threats Report, week 40 — European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „cholera gezondheid”
- AD — „cholera gezondheid”
- de Volkskrant — „cholera gezondheid”