Mozambique: Health authorities confirm 245 more cholera cases, three deaths

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Mozambique: Health authorities confirm 245 more cholera cases, three deaths

11:04 CAT | 14 Aug 2023

File photo: MISAU

The health authorities in Mozambique have confirmed 245 more cases of cholera and three deaths in less than a fortnight, mainly in Nampula province, according to data from the Ministry of Health analysed on Monday by Lusa.

According to the daily bulletins on the progression of the disease prepared by the National Directorate of Public Health, the current outbreak of cholera in Mozambique registers an accumulated 33,821 cases from 14 September 2022 to Saturday, 12 August.

On the first day of August there were 33,576 cases that had caused 141 deaths so far. Meanwhile, according to the same data, three more deaths from the disease – which has a lethality rate of 0.4% – were recorded in Nampula province, with 26 patients admitted to hospital units on 12 August.

In Nampula, 217 new cases of cholera were registered from 1 to 12 August, bringing the total accumulated in the province to 3,153, with six deaths, half of which were after 6 August.

Mozambique’s health authorities at the end of July declared cholera outbreaks in two more districts, Mocímboa da Praia and Mueda, Cabo Delgado province, adding to two other active ones, and acknowledging concern about the increase in cases in the north of that province.

In Cabo Delgado, inthe north of the country, 1,221 cases have been registered since September last year, with three deaths. The new cases detected in Mozambique in recent days are mainly concentrated in that province, parts of which have been in turmoil due to insurgent attacks in the last five years.

Until 12 August, most cholera cases in Mozambique were recorded in the central province of Zambezia (with 13,400 diagnosed and 38 deaths), which was particularly affected after the destruction caused by Cyclone Freddy in February and March, followed by the provinces of Sofala (7,527 cases and 30 deaths) and Niassa (3,501 cases and 25 deaths), but with no new cases reported in these areas for several days now.

The director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, speaking on 13 July in Maputo, highlighted the efforts of Mozambique, and the country’s president, Filipe Nyusi, to stop this cholera epidemic.

According to the WHO chief, the Mozambique government had a remarkable management of the epidemic, which was aggravated by the impact of Cyclone Freddy.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, a situation that aggravates the resistance of infrastructure and services to prevent the disease.

Cholera is a disease that causes severe diarrhoea, which is treatable but can lead to death from dehydration if not tackled promptly. It is largely caused by eating contaminated food and water due to poor sanitation.

In May, the WHO warned that the world will have a shortage of cholera vaccines by 2025 and that one billion people from 43 countries could be infected with the disease.

Source: Lusa