Africa (Commonwealth Union) _ More than 1,300 people have been affected by a cholera outbreak in Mozambique’s central and northern regions, and 16 more have died in the month of February. Cholera, is a waterborne bacterial infection that causes extremely severe acute diarrhea that reasoned to the death of at least 32 individuals, since the start of the rainy season in October. It will be difficult to control the spread of disease as the rain continues. The weather forecasts suggest that there will be more rain, which might result in further floods. More than 700,000 doses of the oral cholera vaccine are on their way to the areas with the highest risk of the disease.
Health authorities warn that immediate action is required to stop the epidemic. Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi insisted that, after the country was hit by severe flooding, the cholera virus is currently present in Mecanhelas, Milange, Caia, Xai-Xai, Lago, and Lichinga’s six districts and as a nation, we all must adhere to necessary precautions to control the spread of the virus. Nyusi moreover urged local authorities to stay alert and prevent displaced people from returning to places at risk and should work to prevent outbreaks of contamination at the level of accommodation centers. 36 districts in Maputo province alone are impacted by flooding. Deluges following torrential rains have devastated infrastructure nationwide, including the highways and bridges leading to Maputo, and swamped thousands of homes and schools.
The Joaquim Chissano Secondary school has facilitated accommodation for the refugees in Maputo province. It is located in the region of Boane, 25 kilometers southwest of the capital Maputo. Domingos Comissário, the head nurse of a hospital in Boane highlighted that there has already been a spike in the number of patients arriving at the facility with diarrheal issues. Instances of diarrhea are brought to this facility every day but none of them are cholera or require hospitalization. As a result, we are on high alert and getting ready for a potential breakout.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning that Zimbabwe and Tanzania are at “high risk” of contracting the disease due to ongoing cholera outbreaks in the neighboring countries of Malawi and Zambia. The Mozambique Ministry of Health declares that it is ready to handle the rise in cholera cases in numerous regions and assures the availability of medications to treat the illness throughout the peak of the rainy season, which will last until April.
Image Credits : 1 World Health Organization (WHO), 2 Gavi, the vaccine alliance
