Freetown/Conakry/Accra/Dakar — Aid agencies are scrambling to treat thousands of cholera patients in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, where the number of infections is mounting by over 250 per day. Most patients are from the city's various urban slums, where open defecation is rife, toilets are rare, sewage is improperly disposed of, and awareness of cholera is very low. Water and sanitation specialists say unless these problems are addressed, cholera will continue to flourish both in Sierra Leone and throughout West Africa.
By 28 July, 15,126 people had contracted cholera in West Africa, the most affected countries being Sierra Leone (at least 5,369 cases, but thought to have increased dramatically since then), Ghana (5,121 cases), Niger (5,023 cases), and Guinea (802 cases), according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
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