Since the year 2000, the incidence of cholera has increased steadily, culminating
in 317,534 reported cases worldwide, including 7,543 deaths, in 2010, with a case-
fatality rate of 2.38%. In the year 2010, the four countries around Lake Chad were
affected by one of the most significant epidemics since the emergence of cholera
in the West African region in 1970. The extent of the epidemic was estimated at
57,000 cases and 2,400 deaths in these four countries. During this epidemic, the
Cameroonian side (Far North) alone recorded more than 9,000 cases of cholera with
about 600 deaths.
Using weekly epidemiological data of reported cases from 1996 to 2010, and
environmental parameters such as rainfall, humidity and temperature, we applied
time series analysis, GIS analysis and scan statistics to explore the spatiotemporal
pattern of cholera epidemics in the Cameroon side of Lake Chad. The temporal
pattern shows that the epidemics occur mainly during the wet seasons and that there
are significant differences in both incidence and timing by health districts. The spatial
pattern shows that there are hotspots and cool spots of cholera in the study area.
Link to video.