Dakar - An outbreak of cholera in Senegal, which coincided with an annual Muslim pilgrimage, has killed 117 people over the past month, the worst outbreak in almost a decade, a senior health official said on Thursday.
The water-borne disease broke out as hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Senegal's remote city of Touba a month ago, making it easier for infections to spread and stretching basic health facilities.
"We have recorded 117 deaths from a total of 8 296 cases (since March 28)," public health director Babacar Drame said. That compared to a death toll of 50 by April 6.
Drame said the situation was being brought under control with six out of 11 regions now free of the disease, an intestinal infection spread by contaminated water and food.
Cholera killed 11 people in Senegal last year with 1 371 cases reported, according to health ministry figures. The previous worst outbreak of cholera in the West African country was in late 1995 and 1996.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the high number of cases was linked to the "grand Magal" pilgrimage, which often attracts more than a million people and is almost as important to the country's main Islamic brotherhood as a trip to Mecca.
Many of those who die from cholera, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea that can lead to severe dehydration and death within 24 hours, could be saved by a simple mixture of water and rehydration salts, yet WHO figures show that more than 1 600 people died from the disease across Africa in 2004.