Mozambique: Around 600 students are sitting on the floor at the 'Nampula Secondary' - report
O País / Maputo Central Hospital, seen here in a file photo
The figures are worrying. In less than a week, the numbers of cholera cases in the country’s health units has increased by 105. According to data presented yesterday by the Ministry of Health, the number rose from 216 cases last week to 321 on Sunday, although the number of deaths remains at just one, at Maputo Central Hospital.
MISAU has detected cases of the so-called “dirty hand disease” in the cities of Maputo, Matola and Nampula province. Nampula had the highest number of registered cases with 205, followed by the city of Maputo with 75 and Matola with 42. Monapo and Meconta districts in Nampula province have recorded the highest incidence of cases.
According to the head of the MISAU Department of Epidemiology, Lorna Gujral, the disease is not related to the lack of water in Maputo, but to the rainy season and poor sanitation.
Authorities advise the population to take all possible precautions, especially in the rainy season. “At this time, all cases of cholera are associated with the rainy season. Besides the rainy season, there are other environmental factors that allow the emergence of cases of this disease. The sanitation of the environment has a great influence. In large cities, for example, sanitation is very poor. There is accumulation of garbage, with flies, and in some neighborhoods large numbers of people use the same bathroom,” Gujral said.
The lack of basic hygiene care is also directly associated with the disease. Gurjal drew attention to the fact that some people do not wash their hands before meals or after using the bathroom. Washing food before cooking and properly preserving foodstuffs play a crucial role in preventing outbreaks.
Cholera is contracted by ingesting of food or water contaminated by the feces or vomit of someone with the disease. The symptoms of cholera are severe diarrhea and vomiting. The diarrhea of a cholera patient is watery and looks whitish, like rice water. The authorities advise patients to go to a health unit immediately if they experience symptoms.
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