Cameroon cholera outbreak kills 155

More than 150 people have died since May in a cholera outbreak in northern Cameroon, the public health ministry said.

As of Monday evening, "we have recorded 2,078 cases including 155 deaths in the Extreme North region," Professor Gervais Ondobo of the ministry told AFP.

The latest figures mark a sharp jump from the previous toll released in late July, which listed 94 deaths among around 1,300 cases.

According to Ondobo, 94 of the deaths had been "in the community", rather than in hospital.

Cases had been recorded in 17 out of the Extreme North's 28 districts, Ondobo said.

Seven deaths had been reported in the North region, and no cases have been reported further to the south, Ondobo said. The first case was detected on May 6, the ministry said.

Cholera outbreaks are common in northern Cameroon, especially during the rainy season. (Sapa, August 2010)

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Cholera timeline