2006 'worst year for cholera'
2006-02-09 14:01
Maputo - Cholera outbreaks in Mozambique are expected to be worse this year than last year.
Health ministry spokesperson Martinho Djedje said this week that about 1 500 cases of cholera had been reported throughout the country since January.
This was about two thirds of last year's figures, after about 2 000 cases were reported.
He said: "This figure shows that 2006 will be a worse year when we compare the figures with those of last year."
No one died of cholera last year, but this year, three people had died in the country's central provinces of Sofala, Manica and Zambezia.
Cholera often occurred in Mozambique during the rainy months between January and May. Poor sanitation in the major towns of Maputo and Beira had made the problem worse.
The health ministry was working with aid agencies to encourage people to take precautionary measures and to use hygienic methods after they handled food.
Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, cholera had reportedly killed more than 14 people out of 250 reported cases this year.
Health minister David Parirenyatwa was quoted in the daily Herald newspaper as discouraging people from shaking hands to prevent the disease from spreading.