Table 1 Eligibility criteria for the literature search; literature which met the criteria are shown in the data files

Inclusion

 Population

Any local population/community impacted by a cholera outbreak in Nigeria or the Democratic Republic of Congo

 Intervention

Any investigation carried out to quantify and understand cholera cases/deaths and risk factors

 Comparator

Anyone in the affected population or community which did not become infected with cholera

 Outcomes

The outcome is to understand epidemiological features of cholera outbreaks in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo

 Study type

Retrospective observational reports/studies including cross-sectional, case–control and cohort studies

Exclusion

 Studies which investigate a diarrhoeal disease outbreak with no specific mention of cholera

 Serological surveys evaluating antibody levels in the population and not a specific outbreak with active cases

 Review papers, as only primary sources were used

 Publications looking at public health and cholera prevention more generally and not in relation to a specific response

 Non-English or non-French abstracts and full-texts, due to linguistic constraints

 Multiple data points where the information reported was the same