Cholera, diarrhea return to Myanmar’s 2024 outbreak townships as floods affect 470,000

Mizzima

Cholera and acute watery diarrhea (AWD) have resurfaced simultaneously in Yangon, Sittwe, Mon State and Ayeyarwady Region, the same areas struck by Myanmar’s nationwide 2024 outbreak, according to a Myanmar Health Cluster bulletin covering data through 31 August 2026.

The bulletin, coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), also reports that flooding has affected more than 470,000 people across 16 townships in Sagaing, four in Mandalay, four in Magway, three in Ayeyarwady and parts of Mon State, with new AWD cases emerging in flood-hit areas of Sagaing, Mandalay and Bago.

The recurrence follows a cluster that began in Yangon on 9 August and, by mid-month, had caused at least one death and nearly 200 hospitalizations, according to Yangon’s junta-run regional administration. By 18 August, hospitalizations in Yangon had climbed to about 500, with nearly 150 cases testing positive for cholera, and at least one additional death was recorded in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, according to health officials cited by international wire agencies.

The Myanmar Health Cluster, made up of WHO and 49 partner organizations, issues monthly bulletins tracking disease outbreaks, health-service delivery and attacks on health care nationwide. Myanmar’s health system has remained strained since the 2021 military coup triggered a civil war now in its sixth year, compounding chronic shortages of medical supplies in conflict-affected areas.

Malaria and dengue cases have also increased in flood-affected regions, with Karenni, Tanintharyi, Kachin, Chin and Sagaing facing acute shortages of bednets and treatment supplies, the bulletin says. In Magway, more than 200,000 people have remained displaced by conflict since May, compounding pressure on health services in a region also coping with flood damage.

Separately, Insecurity Insight recorded 101 attacks on health care across Myanmar between January and August, compared with 53 incidents verified over the same period by WHO’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care — a gap reflecting differing verification standards rather than a single count, and one the bulletin does not break down by responsible party.

Health partners say they delivered life-saving health services to more than 813,000 people across 227 townships in the first half of 2026, according to Health Cluster-compiled partner data; combined nationwide reporting from all responding organizations puts the total at nearly 897,000 people across 330 townships, though the bulletin does not specify whether the figures count unique individuals or repeat visits.

The return of outbreaks to the exact townships hit in 2024 raises the question of whether the water, sanitation and disease-surveillance gaps identified after that outbreak have since been closed. WHO and the Health Cluster say more detailed case breakdowns by township, along with confirmation of the current split between cholera and AWD cases, are expected in future bulletins.