• Simon Akam / Reuters

    A child stands in pouring rain in the slum of Susan's Bay in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, Aug. 22. At the height of the wet season, over-populated areas with poor water and sanitation are exacerbating the spread of the disease.

    Cholera infects 13,000 in Sierra Leone, national emergency declared

    Sierra Leone's government has described the current cholera outbreak in the West African state of Sierra Leone as a "national emergency." According to Associated Press, more than 258 have been killed and some 13,000 more are infected by the disease.

    "All of this is the aftermath of the 11 years rebel war when we had a huge rural-to-urban migration and a huge population clustered in the urban area where adequate provision has not been made for water and sanitation. This is what we have been witnessing today," Minister of Health and Sanitation Zainab Hawa Bangura. Continue reading AP article.

    Cholera is an infection of the small intestine, contracted by eating or drinking contaminated food or liquids. It can cause acute diarrhea and vomiting and can kill within hours.