Ver Angola

Health

Cholera deaths rise to 11 with 95 cases reported

The number of deaths from cholera in Luanda has risen to 11, with 93 cases having been reported since the beginning of the year, according to the Ministry of Health (Minsa) information bulletin to which Lusa had access this Friday.

: Lusa
Lusa  

Two cases were also reported in the neighbouring province of Bengo, according to the same document.

The cases recorded in the province of Luanda are confined to neighbourhoods in the municipality of Cacuaco, especially Paraíso, which has a total of 54 cases, eight confirmed, and five deaths.

Of the 95 cases, aged between 2 and 65, 54 are male and the remainder are female.

In the last 24 hours, 37 cases of cholera were reported, of which 35 were in Cacuaco (17 in the Paraíso neighbourhood) and two in the municipality of Dande, in the province of Bengo, with two deaths, one of which occurred outside of hospital.

The Ministry of Health declared the cholera outbreak when the first case was confirmed on 7 January, and activated the National Cholera Response Plan.

According to a previous note from the Ministry of Health, people are showing symptoms of vomiting and watery diarrhea, and the provincial health office in Luanda has "immediately" implemented measures recommended by the World Health Organization.

These measures include disinfecting contaminated areas, identifying and tracing contacts, and conducting in-depth epidemiological and laboratory investigations to confirm suspected cases.

The president of the National Union of Doctors of Angola, Adriano Manuel, told Lusa on Wednesday that the lack of sanitation, increased poverty and lack of investment in preventive health are all contributing to the emergence of cholera in the country, noting that "there has been no shortage of warnings".

According to the WHO, after a period without outbreaks between 1995 and 2000, the country suffered a huge outbreak in 2011, resulting in 2284 cases and 181 deaths.

The most recent outbreak occurred between 2016 and 2017, affecting the provinces of Cabinda, Luanda and Zaire with a total of 252 cases and 11 deaths.

UNICEF says that cholera outbreaks have been recorded in Angola in several provinces of the country since 2017 and warns that nine million people are at risk, especially during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.

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