Government figures show a cholera outbreak has killed at least 200 people in Cameroon and 40 people in neighboring Nigeria.
A Nigerian official said Thursday that at least 100 people have been infected in the northern Borno state where the outbreak surfaced last week.
Just across the border in northern Cameroon, officials say nearly 2,300 people have now been infected with the deadly water-borne disease since it was first detected in early May.
Health officials have been deployed to the area and investigations into the outbreaks are underway.
Cholera is common during the rainy season and is intensified by wastewater disposal issues and limited access to clean drinking water.
The disease causes vomiting and diarrhea that can result in dehydration. If not treated, it can be fatal.
More than 260 people died of cholera in Nigeria in late 2009, but Cameroon has not seen a cholera outbreak this widespread since 2004.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
