"Up to October 27, 2009, 407 cases (of cholera) were recorded (in northern parts of the country), including 65 deaths," according to a government statement in the state newspaper, the Cameroon Tribune.
More than 60 percent of those who died did not go to hospital, the statement said.
Prime Minister Philemon Yang urged the reinforcement of outbreak monitoring systems, "mainly in border areas, notably by the use of rapid alert mechanisms" and the organisation of hygiene campaigns, the statement added.
The infection was spread via a river contaminated by washing from a person with cholera who had crossed into Cameroon from neighbouring Nigeria, a medical official said.
Cholera outbreaks are common in northern Cameroon, especially during the rainy season, the official said, but this year's has proved particularly bad. (AFP)
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