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Health

Government announces treatment centers to combat cholera outbreak

The Minister of Health announced this Monday the installation of rehydration stations and cholera treatment centers in the neighborhoods most affected by the disease, appealing to families to seek treatment from the first symptoms.

: Ampe Rogério/Lusa
Ampe Rogério/Lusa  

Sílvia Lutucuta, who visited the municipality of Cacuaco in Luanda, the epicentre of a cholera outbreak in the country, on Monday, urged families to adopt preventive measures and treat the disease early to avoid deaths.

Since the beginning of the year, 18 deaths from cholera have been recorded in three provinces, with 224 cases reported and 32 of these confirmed.

The head of the Health Department stressed that the government has adopted a community work strategy to raise awareness among the population about the disease and the precautions that must be taken to combat cholera, considering that the collaboration of the population is "extremely important" and that responsibility is individual and collective.

"Of course we have to improve the supply of drinking water and environmental sanitation, (but) it starts with families, it starts with the community", she said, promising to install oral rehydration points that families with symptoms can use.

The most serious cases will be able to go to a treatment center with a capacity of 100 beds, which will also be set up in Cacuaco, to facilitate access to health care.

"Starting today, tents will be set up in the Paraíso and Belo Monte neighborhoods because some (patients) are not arriving at the hospital and are dying in the community, and others are arriving very late, with signs of very serious dehydration," she pointed out.

"We do not want deaths in the community or in hospitals, and for this reason we want to treat the disease early," reinforced Sílvia Lutucuta, urging the population to drink plenty of fluids and boiled water as soon as the first symptoms appear – very intense vomiting and watery diarrhea – and to seek out the nearest oral rehydration center or health center.

"When families recognize vomiting and diarrhea, they must rush to the rehydration centers or treatment centers as soon as possible," she stressed.

The minister recalled that cholera is a highly contagious disease that kills in a short period of time without effective treatment, considering that the "great challenge" is getting patients to health facilities in time.

"We have noticed that there is still a long way to go," she added, justifying the decision to set up a treatment center with medical teams available to provide 24-hour care to prevent patients from having to travel long distances by their own means to reach the two referral hospitals in that municipality.

In the Paraíso neighborhood, which has no running water or basic sanitation, where half of the cases were reported and six of the 18 deaths occurred, measures are also being taken to clean the tanks.

Due to the proximity of the underground tanks to the latrines, Sílvia Lutucuta stated that the "strategy will change", with tanks being installed on the surface where the population will be supplied.

In addition, access to other sources will be restricted and a water treatment station will be installed at the entrance to the neighborhood.

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