Cholera has killed 81 people and infected more than 6,000 in Senegal in the last two weeks, health officials said in Dakar Monday.

The waterborne disease broke out as hundreds of thousands of Muslims went to Touba, a remote city of Senegal, for a pilgrimage known as the "grand Magal."

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on its website last week that the increased number of cholera cases was associated with the pilgrimage.

Cholera causes serious diarrhea and vomiting and can be fatal if not treated.

Source: Xinhua