A cholera epidemic has been spreading throughout the coast of West Africa due to heavy rainfall causing government officials in Sierra Leone to declare a state of emergency last Friday.

About 13,000 people have been victims to the disease in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Conakry, Guinea. Diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration are among the symptoms that many are experiencing.

According to health officials, many have died as a result of the epidemic in Mali and Niger.

The lack of toilets within the slum areas of these nations forced people to defecate in open areas. The feces came in contact with the water supply due to the heavy rains and it became contaminated.

"There have been heavy rain throughout the past month and this is not helping," said Daniel Mouque of Doctors Without Borders in Conakry. The peak of the cholera outbreak comes right after the rain stops. There is a realistic possibility that we haven't reached the peak yet. Our numbers are way higher than in 2007."

Officials fear that the number of cholera victims will increase as the rainy season has not ended. There are already over 1,000 new reported cases per week in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Authorities have tried disinfecting the water supplies with chlorine, however, sanitation is not given enough financial attention.

UNICEF reports that there have been 40,799 cholera cases and 846 deaths this year alone. Half of the reported cases originate from the Democratic Republic of Congo among the 14 countries of West and Central Africa.