Cholera outbreak strikes DRC
2008-01-31 08:20
Kinshasa - More than 2 000 cholera cases, including 59 deaths, had been recorded this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo's southeastern Katanga province, said an aid organisation on Wednesday.
Three different sites in the province had registered 2 083 cholera cases, said Bertrand Perrochet, an official with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders).
A week ago, MSF had reported 1 463 cases and 30 deaths, mostly in the provincial capital of Lubumbashi, the mining city of Likasi and the rural area of Bukama.
In Bukama, the outbreak appeared to have been brought under control and the organisation's emergency teams had been sent to Likasi, with a population of more than 300 000.
MSF said: "When we arrived in Likasi (last week), more than 60 new patients were arriving each day for a centre with a capacity of 35 people. Hygienic conditions were catastrophic."
MSF had recorded 30 deaths and 687 cases in Likasi over the course of a month.
The organisation set up a new medical structure to relieve the overburdened local hospital and the supply of potable water had improved, it said.
Cholera was a waterborne disease, which caused serious diarrhoea and vomiting and could be fatal if not treated within 24 hours. It could be prevented by washing hands before handling food and avoiding contaminated drinking water.