A three-year-old child died of cholera in Mayotte, the first death since the start of the epidemic

C’est la première victime du choléra à Mayotte. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP – Eric Audra

The cholera epidemic in the French department of Mayotte has caused the first death; a child aged three.

The cholera epidemic in Mayotte caused the first death, a three-year-old child, in the commune of Koungou, the prefecture and the prefecture announced this Wednesday, May 8. Regional health agency.

"A first child died today", they wrote in a joint press release. "The child lived in the Koungou district in which several cases of cholera had been identified in recent weeks".

This first fatal case comes on the eve of the visit of the Minister of Health Frédéric Valletoux to this island in the Indian Ocean, planned for several days.

First cases recorded in mid-March

The first cases of cholera in Mayotte were recorded in mid-March among people returning from neighboring Comoros, where the epidemic is flaring with 98 deaths according to the latest official report.

In Mayotte, the first cases "indigenous", diagnosed in patients who had not left the country ;#39;French island in the Indian Ocean, appeared at the end of April.

Cholera, a bacterial disease which can cause acute diarrhea and lead to death from dehydration within one to three days, is transmitted through contaminated water or food. There are effective vaccines and treatments.

Since mid-March, 58 cases of cholera have been recorded by the Mahorese authorities, including six active cases at the last report dated May 6.

A protocol developed in February to prevent the spread of the disease provides for the disinfection of the patient's home, the identification and treatment of contact cases and vaccination &amp ;quot;in rings", gradually widening the area concerned around the home of the patient suffering from cholera.