Senegal hit by cholera
2005-03-21 20:00
Dakar - Health officials met on Monday to discuss how to contain a cholera epidemic in Senegal's sacred city of Touba, where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are expected next week.
As many as 30 cases of cholera are being reported daily in Touba, 200km east of the capital, Dakar, the state-owned Senegalese Press Agency reported on Monday.
The Muslim pilgrimage, called "Magal", annually attracts nearly 1 million people from across West Africa to the hometown of 19th-century religious leader Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who was exiled in 1895 by French colonisers, who feared his growing influence.
The pilgrimage, which this year takes place on March 30, commemorates Bamba's exile.
The agency said at least 1 350 cases of cholera have been reported since January in Touba, the country's second most populous city of 1 million inhabitants. Walf Fadrji newspaper put the number of victims at 1 400.
Authorities were not immediately available for comment. National health ministry and local government officials were meeting in Touba, aides said.
Dr Bernard Marcel Diop, a doctor at Dakar's state-run Fann teaching hospital, said officials had been warned of the dangers weeks ago.
Water tanks
"We alerted the authorities in January," he told The Associated Press. "Now, it will take at least two weeks to come to terms with the disease."
The arrival of so many pilgrims could spread the disease throughout the country, he warned.
"If it is at all possible, they should postpone the pilgrimage," Diop said.
Senegal's news agency said 70 water tanks were driving around Touba to try to provide clean water to residents.
Recent water shortages in the region are blamed for the cholera outbreak, the agency said.
A cholera outbreak in and around the capital, Dakar, infected 861 people in November and killed two. The disease was contained after a prolonged radio and television campaign urging residents to be diligent about hygiene - washing hands and raw fruit and vegetables carefully.
Cholera, which is common in West Africa, is a severe bacterial infection of the intestine caused by eating infected food or drinking contaminated water. Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting, which can kill unless treated quickly.
Epidemics are linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding, inadequate sanitation and unsafe water.
The last cholera outbreak in Senegal killed 201 people in 1996.
- AP