Cholera worries Moz officials
2008-02-20 13:28
Maputo - Eight of Mozambique's 11 administrative provinces, including the city of Maputo, have been hit by a cholera epidemic, which has claimed 50 lives, state media reported on Wednesday.
Health Minister Ivo Garrido was quoted by the daily Noticias as saying that the spread of the disease worried health authorities.
Currently provinces of Maputo, Maputo city, Manica, Sofala, Tete, Cabo Delgado, Gaza and Zambezia had registered cases of the highly contagious disease.
Only the provinces of Inhambane, Niassa and Nampula had not recorded any cases of cholera.
Health authorities attributed the spreading of the disease to poor hygiene practices and the flooding in the central provinces.
Official figures indicated that at least 100 000 people had been displaced by the floods since December last year.
Fields and homes had been damaged and international aid agencies estimate more than 200 000 people mostly in the central provinces of the country were depending on emergency food aid.
- SAPA