Southern African leaders will hold an extraordinary summit on Friday amid concerns about the cholera epidemic across multiple countries.

Thousands of people have been infected and hundreds have died in the region from the disease since late last year.

Cholera is water-borne and can kill within hours if left untreated. It largely affects communities with poor water and sanitation infrastructure.

This is the worst cholera outbreak in southern Africa in years.

At Friday’s virtual summit, the heads of state, including from Zimbabwe and Zambia, will focus on the factors driving the outbreak.

They are also expected to discuss how countries can collaborate to control the epidemic and to stop it from spreading further.

UN agencies have recorded more than 200,000 infections including over 3,000 deaths in 13 African countries since last year.

January alone saw 6,000 new cases and 355 deaths in nine countries.