Cholera worldwide overview
Monthly update as of 25 February 2026
Since 28 January 2026, and as of 25 February 2026, 24 009 new cholera cases, including 275 new deaths, have been reported worldwide.
New cases have been reported from Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar/Burma, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The five countries reporting the most cases are:
- Afghanistan (9 460),
- the Democratic Republic of the Congo (9 325),
- Mozambique (2 267),
- Yemen (1 626), and
- Burundi (382).
New deaths have been reported from Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The five countries reporting most new deaths are Democratic Republic of the Congo (219), Mozambique (34), Zambia (7), Afghanistan (4), and Angola (4).
In the previous reporting period (24 December 2025 to 28 January 2026), 11 965 new cholera cases, including 126 new deaths, were reported worldwide. In addition, 735 new cases were reported or collected retrospectively from before 28 January 2026. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 25 February 2026, 25 714 cholera cases, including 282 deaths, have been reported worldwide. In comparison, since 1 January 2025, and as of 25 February 2025, 69 088 cholera cases, including 709 deaths, were reported worldwide.
Geographical distribution of cholera cases reported worldwide from December 2025 to February 2026
Since the last update, new cases and new deaths have been reported from:
Asia
Afghanistan: Since 28 December 2025, and as of 9 February 2026, 9 460 new cases, including four new deaths, have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 9 February 2026, 9 460 cases, including four deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 24 February 2025, 14 403 cases, including six deaths, were reported.
Myanmar/Burma: Since 28 December 2025, and as of 9 February 2026, 120 new cases have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 9 February 2026, 120 cases have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 20 January 2025, 553 cases were reported.
Pakistan: Since 28 December 2025, and as of 19 January 2026, 493 new cases have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 19 January 2026, 493 cases have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 10 February 2025, 4 038 cases were reported.
Yemen: Since 28 December 2025, and as of 9 February 2026, 1 626 new cases, including one new death, has been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 9 February 2026, 1 626 cases, including one death, has been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 24 February 2025, 10 080 cases, including 10 deaths, were reported.
Since 28 January 2026, no updates have been reported by India, Nepal, or the Philippines.
Africa
Angola: Since 27 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 46 new cases, including four new deaths, have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 198 cases, including six deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 18 February 2025, 3 147 cases, including 108 deaths, were reported.
Burundi: Since 27 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 382 new cases, including two new deaths, have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 405 cases, including two deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 24 February 2025, 95 cases were reported.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Since 31 December 2025, and as of 18 February 2026, 9 325 new cases, including 219 new deaths, have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 9 325 cases, including 219 deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 17 February 2025, 8 056 cases, including 171 deaths, were reported.
Malawi: Since 27 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 53 new cases have been reported. Since 1 January 2026 and as of 18 February 2026, 65 cases, including two deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 18 February 2025, 83 cases, including two deaths, were reported.
Mozambique: Since 27 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 2 267 new cases, including 34 new deaths, have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 3 163 cases, including 37 deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 3 February 2025, 64 cases were reported.
Namibia: Since 27 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, two new cases have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 20 cases have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 25 February 2025, no cases were reported.
Nigeria: Since 31 December 2025, and as of 18 February 2026, 251 new cases, including three new deaths, have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 251 cases, including three deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 24 February 2025, 1 124 cases, including 28 deaths, were reported.
Somalia: Since 27 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 241 new cases have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 323 cases have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 17 February 2025, 1 409 cases, including one death, was reported.
Sudan: Since 31 December 2025, and as of 11 January 2026, nine new cases have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 11 January 2026, nine cases have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 18 February 2025, 2 437 cases, including 53 deaths, were reported.
Zambia: Since 27 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 231 new cases, including seven new deaths, have been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, 236 cases, including seven deaths, have been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 18 February 2025, 224 cases, including nine deaths, were reported.
Zimbabwe: Since 31 December 2025, and as of 18 February 2026, five new cases, including one new death, has been reported. Since 1 January 2026, and as of 18 February 2026, five cases, including one death, has been reported. In comparison, in 2025 and as of 18 February 2025, 133 cases, including two deaths, were reported.
Since 28 January 2026, no updates have been reported by Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, or the United Republic of Tanzania.
Americas
No new cases or new deaths have been reported.
ECDC assessment:
Cholera cases have continued to be reported in Africa and Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas.
In this context, although the likelihood of cholera infection for travellers visiting these countries remains low, sporadic importation of cases to the EU/EEA is possible.
In the EU/EEA, cholera is rare and primarily associated with travel to endemic countries. In the EU/EEA, all cholera cases were reported annually; and since 2024, only events of locally-acquired cholera cases are reported. Global imported and locally-acquired cholera cases are reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on an annual basis. In 2024, 16 imported cases were reported by eight EU/EEA countries, while 12 were reported in 2023, 29 in 2022, two in 2021, and none in 2020. In 2019, 25 cases were reported in EU/EEA countries (including the United Kingdom). All cases had a travel history to cholera-affected areas.
According to WHO, vaccination should be considered for travellers at higher risk of infection, such as emergency and relief workers who may be directly exposed. Vaccination is generally not recommended for other travellers. Travellers to cholera-endemic areas should seek advice from travel health clinics to assess their personal risk and apply precautionary sanitary and hygiene measures to prevent infection. Such measures can include drinking bottled water or water treated with chlorine, carefully washing fruit and vegetables with bottled or chlorinated water before consumption, regularly washing hands with soap, eating thoroughly cooked food, and avoiding the consumption of raw seafood products.
Actions:
ECDC continues to monitor cholera outbreaks globally through its epidemic intelligence activities in order to identify significant changes in epidemiology and provide timely updates to public health authorities. Reports are published on a monthly basis. The worldwide overview of cholera outbreaks is available on ECDC's website.
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All updates on Cholera
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholera of serogroups O1 or O139. Humans are the only relevant reservoir, even though Vibrios can survive for a long time in coastal waters contaminated by human excreta.