Mozambique: 8 cholera deaths recorded in Niassa, Zambézia and Tete on alert

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Mozambique: 8 cholera deaths recorded in Niassa, Zambézia and Tete on alert

1:44 CAT | 09 Jan 2023

Photo: O País

The three Mozambican provinces which border Malawi are on high alert for cholera. A worrying situation has arisen in Niassa, where more than 500 cholera cases and eight deaths have been recorded. There is also the suspicion of cholera in the districts of Mecanhelas and Sanga, in the same province.

The first cholera patients in Niassa province were diagnosed in the district of Lago, which borders Malawi, a country that has registered more than 18,000 cases of the disease in recent months. Among the 379 cases registered in Lago, there were six deaths, and one patient remains hospitalised.

“In Lichinga, from the first week of December until this Sunday (8 December), we registered a total of 220 cases,” revealed provincial director of Health Ramos Mboane. “Unfortunately, two of these patients lost their lives due to complications caused by the disease. Currently, what worries us is the fact that we have other outbreaks in the districts of Sanga (neighbouring the districts of Lago and Lichinga), and also in Mecanhelas (district) in the south of the province. These districts are already reporting cases of diarrhoea. We collected samples that were sent to the National Institute of Health, and the results will tell whether or not we have cholera in those places.”

Health authorities suspect that the cases are imported from Malawi. “We have to report an epidemiological connection with the outbreak in Malawi for the situation in the district of Lago, because the outbreak happened less than 10 km from the border,” Mboane added. “In this case, we can say with some certainty that there is an epidemiological connection with the outbreak in Malawi. In terms of Lichinga, because there was movement of people from the district of Lago to Lichinga and vice versa.”

Health authorities in Tete, another province bordering Malawi, are also on alert. “We have no confirmed cases as yet, but if there is any eventuality, we are ready to intervene. We have provincial and district teams working on the matter,” said Hélder Dombole, head of Public Health in Tete province.

The province of Zambezia has registered some cases of diarrhoea, but there is still no confirmation of a cholera outbreak. “We are carrying out the blockade,” highlighted Aníbal Fernando, representative of the Provincial Health Directorate of Zambézia. “That is, surveillance teams are working in the districts that border Malawi. In these places, we are disinfecting our hands with soap and water to prevent the disease from entering our province.”

The authorities are urging the strict observance of preventive measures, especially as it is still the rainy season.

By Raúl Massingue

Source: O País