Cholera deaths reported to the World Health Organization rose 30% in 2025 even as the number of reported cases fell, WHO said in a September 29, 2026 release. Forty-seven countries reported 451,499 cases and 7,870 deaths for the year. WHO called that the highest annual number of cholera deaths reported to it since 1999.
Those are 2025 surveillance figures, released in 2026. They are not a count of new deaths in September 2026 or a complete measure of every infection worldwide. WHO cautioned that many cases go unreported and the actual global burden is substantially higher.
Where the reported burden was concentrated
Seven countries accounted for around 90% of the reported cases and deaths: Angola, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen. WHO's African Region reported a 34% increase in cases and a 58% increase in deaths compared with 2024.
That concentration matters for the response. Safe water, sanitation, surveillance and timely care can have outsized effects where transmission and mortality are highest. It does not mean the other reporting countries face no risk, nor does it turn a yearly global total into a measure of one current outbreak.
WHO published the figures alongside updates on meningitis and plague in its September 29 news release. The underlying findings appear in its Weekly Epidemiological Record. The release is the source for the reported totals and comparisons in this article.
Why deaths can rise as cases fall
The two trends are not contradictory. A smaller reported case count can coexist with a higher death count if people do not reach treatment quickly, if the mix of affected places changes or if surveillance misses infections. WHO's release does not establish one single cause for the global difference, so it would be misleading to assign the entire increase to any one factor.
Access to care is a concrete part of the picture. More than one in five reported cholera deaths occurred outside health facilities. Among patients treated in facilities, the reported fatality rate was below 1% globally, although it exceeded that threshold in 12 countries. The gap underscores why early detection, transport and treatment availability matter alongside prevention.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal illness caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria and generally spreads through food or water contaminated with faeces. Severe dehydration can become fatal without rapid treatment. Public health responses therefore combine clean water and sanitation with surveillance, treatment and vaccination rather than relying on any single measure.
What is changing in vaccine supply?
WHO said annual production of oral cholera vaccine grew from around 30 million doses in 2022 to roughly 80 million in 2025. The international vaccine provision group approved 71 million doses for affected countries last year, including 20 million for preventive use. WHO said preventive vaccination resumed earlier in 2026 after more than three years of suspension.
More supply improves response options, but it does not replace access to safe water and prompt care. The reported rise in deaths is a reminder that vaccine availability, health systems and basic sanitation have to work together where the burden is greatest.
The photograph accompanying this story is WHO's image of a cholera vaccination campaign in Kenya in November 2025. It illustrates the response described by WHO; it is not a photograph of every country in the 2025 totals or of an event in September 2026. Credit: WHO / Ardo Farah.
Quick answers
How many cholera deaths did WHO report for 2025? Countries reported 7,870 deaths to WHO across 47 reporting countries.
Do the numbers show all global cholera cases? No. WHO says surveillance misses many cases, so the actual burden is higher.
